Imaginary Playmate
by Melinda-chan
Summary: Chapter Six Uploaded! Thank you all my reviewers! Contains the epilogue, as well as author information, responses to reviews, author's notes and much more. Be sure to review now! It's my last chapter!
1. Mokuba's Playmate

Imaginary Playmate by Melinda The Digimon Poet

Mabel was bored. It was boring in this black realm. There was no one to play with and no toys for that matter. Mabel had no interest in the other beings in the realm. Thye did not want to play with her. Besides they were no fun. She could not play with them like she could to mortals. Mortals were fun. It was so easy to play with them. However, there were no mortals in the black realm now. She felt no one wanted her. Not even the mortals wanted her.

Then a light came in front of her. The light invited her to go out of the black realm. Mabel rose on her feet. Someone did want her! She was so excited. She was going to get a new playmate!

'I hope it's a girl! I always loved playing with girls!' Mabel thought. She imagined the dolls and tea sets in her head. 'Of course it could be a boy'. She thought about the toy cars and trucks. She did not like cars and trucks though she could make them go real fast. She thought about video games. 'I bet if it's a boy he can play video games!' She ran toward the light. 'Here I come!' Mabel went through the light. The light vanished.

Mabel was going to get a new playmate.

Mokuba was bored. He decided to see his brother. He opened the door. He saw his brother working on the computer. He looked like he was working on a new virtual game.

"Seto I have a problem".

"What is it?" Seto said without turning his head. Mokuba clenched his fists in anger. It seemed to him that he was not the prime concern in his life anymore.

"I got nothing to do!" Mokuba told him.

"Did you do your homework?"

"Yes", Mokuba answered.

"Hmm, why don't you go on one of the holographic simulators?"

"I have been on those things like a million times! Besides it's not exciting to be battling against the computer!"

"You are right. It is better to battle a human competitor than with the computer", Seto said. He paused for a second. "I do need to get this project done by this Friday. Find something to do".

Mokuba almost pulled out his black hair. Instead he gave one angry look at his brother, emitted a low growl and slammed the door behind him.

Seto became startled. He looked at the door. He sighed. It was a busy time for him yet he knew that there was no excuse for pushing his brother away like that. He resolved to make it up for him- just not now.

Mokuba almost cried out loud as he stomped into his bedroom. He went on his bed. Tears came down his face. He covered his face with his arms as he laid down.

'This is unfair. Seto doesn't want to spend time with me. There is nothing to do and I don't think Seto would want Yugi and his friends over. Besides they are probably busy as well', Mokuba thought. He wiped the tears from his eyes but he could not stop more from coming down.

"I wish- I wish I had a playmate! I want someone that can play with me no matter what! I would do anything to get one! Anything!" Mokuba called out. A light appeared in front of him. The next thing Mokuba knew he was staring at a double version of himself on the bed.

"What the?" Mokuba was shocked. He blinked. "You must be my imaginary playmate I think. I am Kaiba Mokuba".

The smaller black-haired kid looked all over itself. The kid opened and closed its hands. Then the kid hit tis head with an outstretched palm. "I'm a boy!" It sounded disappointed.

Mokuba felt offended. "What's wrong with being a boy?"

"Girls are more fun to play with", it explained. "They treat me better too. At least that's been my personal experience".

"Well I won't treat you badly. How's that?"

"I like that. You can call me Mabel".

"You are a girl!"

"No I'm not!"

"Mabel is a girl's name".

"Oh". Mabel then looked at him with her dark eyes. "Then give me another name'.

Mokuba had to think. "Well I can call you Kazuki. How's that?"

"Nope. I don't like it. Give me another name".

"How about Shoji?"

"Nah. Do you got anymore?"

"I know! Hajime!"

"Jimmy?"

"No Hajime!"

"Where do you get these strange names?"

Mokuba sighed. "I guess having a girl as a playmate is better than having no playmate at all! So what do you want to do?"

"Most boys play cars or trucks or video games. Do you play any of those?"

"No but I do have this", Mokuba took out a deck of cards. "My brother is a big fan of this game. It's called Duel Monsters".

"Is this a new game?" Mabel picked up a card. It was a Rude Kaiser. "Ahh! What is that?"

"I will show you how to play it so we can play it together".

"Okay", Mabel said.

"Well first I need to shuffle the cards", Mokuba told her. "Then I split the deck so we can both play. Now take out five cards for yourself". Mabel did as she was told.

"Kaiba?"

"You can call me Mokuba. That's my personal name".

"But I thought it was Kaiba-"

"Huh? Oh I see. The way in my culture you say your family name first, then your personal name. Do you understand?"

"I guess. I wish you people make up your minds".

Mokuba looked up from his cards. Mabel seemed to be from another culture. But Mabel was only his imaginary playmate right? "So what do you want to tell me?"

"What am I supposed to do now that I have drawn my cards?"

"Oh yeah. I was going to tell you about the next step. First of all I should tell you that some cards have points but others don't. Don't show me your cards but let's me tell you about the monster cards and the magic cards and the trap cards-"

Seto could no longer take it anymore. He knew that he made Mokuba upset and angry. It was unthinkable of him to push his little brother away like that. He had to make up for that. He at least went away from his computer and got out of the room. He walked through the hallway and knocked on Mokuba's door. He then opened the door without a thought.

Mokuba was startled. He froze when he saw his brother looking down at him. His eyes narrowed.

"What do you want?" Mokuba asked in a harsh tone. Seto was taken aback by this unusual behavior. He quickly composed himself and went closer to his little brother.

"Listen Mokuba I am sorry I pushed you away like that. I have been very busy and I have been neglecting you these past days. But now I have free time". He looked down at the cards. "I see that you are playing with yourself Mokuba".

"My playmate was here but she vanished".

"Your playmate?"

"Yeah she was here but she fled. You must have scared her".

"Oh I see. You have an imaginary playmate. Perhaps I had neglected you too much", Seto got on the bed. "I am sorry Mokuba. Please forgive me. Can I play with you?"

"Oh Seto! Of course you can!" Mokuba felt very happy.

"Okay Mokuba let me show you a move that-" suddenly the cell phone in his pocket rang. "Hello Kaiba here and this better be important… Huh huh. Can you get someone else to do- I see." Seto closed his eyes and sighed. "Very well. I am coming". He then got out of Mokuba's bed and headed for the door.

"Wait a minute! I thought you are going to play with me!" Mokuba said.

Seto stopped but he did not face his brother. "The maintenance team is having difficulty with one of the virtual game systems. Even the mechanics has no clue how to fix it. I got to find more competent people. In the meantime I have to go down there and check the problem for myself. I'll see you in a bit". Before Mokuba could say anything, Seto opened the door and left the room.

Mokuba was alone. His brother had left him for his work. "Why is this happening? Every time we get close something happens to break us apart!" Mokuba sobbed. A bright light appeared in front of him. It was Mabel!

"Mabel! I'm so glad to see you! I know I can count on you to play with me!" Mokuba hugged her. Tears came down his face.

"You're crying! Did something upset you?" Mabel looked at his face. Mokuba tried to cover it but Mabel pulled his hands apart. Her dark eyes gazed at his wet ones. "Don't worry Mo-ku-ba", she said his name one syllable at a time. "I will always be there for you".

"Really?" Mokuba questioned.

"Yes. Was it your brother that did this to you?" Mabel asked. Mokuba nodded. "Let me handle him for you. As for now, tell me about him".

"Well Seto is the smartest kid I know. He owns Kaiba Corporation, one of the biggest companies of the world. He is a genius. He always does well in school and invented lots of new technology", Mokuba proudly declared. "He is usually good to me but recently I am starting to think he doesn't want me anymore. He hasn't been around me and whenever we do get close his work gets in the way".

"Oh wow Mokuba! Your brother must be smart! I promised I shall be with you always but tell me what does he do or make in his company?" Mabel inquired.

"Let me show you", Mokuba told her.

"Okay", Mabel nodded.

Mokuba took Mabel out of the room and to a new door. It was attached to a security system on the wall.

"Kaiba Mokuba", Mokuba spoke. Immediately the security system scanned the boy.

"DNA scanned. Kaiba Mokuba, you can enter", the security system said. Mabel looked shocked. She had never seen a security system like that before.

"Come on Mabel. Do you want to come with me?" Mokuba turned to Mabel.

"Okay", Mabel went into the room. She saw it was a big room filled with all sorts of gaming systems. In the middle there was a big rectangular machine. "What is that used for?"

"It's a holographic simulator. Let me show you how it works", Mokuba went on the platform and placed a card down. "A holographic simulator can project a card onto the field you see down there", Mokuba explained. The Mystical Elf appeared just like he said.

Mabel's eyes grew wide but then returned to normal. "Is that all?"

"Why did you say that? Do you have any better ideas?"

"Give me that card!" Mabel shouted. She opened her arms. "Please".

"Okay", Mokuba threw down the card.

"Come down please", Mabel said. "I want you to show you something!"

Mokuba obeyed and went down. He was now face-to-face with her. "I am down. What do you want to show me?"

Mabel looked at the card. "I'll show you now. Mystical Elf!" A light flashed from the card. Mokuba dropped his mouth. Right before him was a tall Mystical Elf, chanting, as usual.

"How-how did you do that?" Mokuba gasped. His wide eyes stared at both of them. Mabel touched the Mystical Elf. The monster responded by touching the top of her head. A thin smile appeared on her face. She resumed her chanting.

"I can make anything come alive", Mabel explained. "And there are other things I can do too. She just told me that she could make other cards more powerful. Can you show me how is this possible?"

Mokuba was too stunned to say anything. The Mystical Elf just appeared before him without being in a holographic simulator. He had only one question to ask.

"What are you?" Mabel asked shaking. Mabel was about to speak when the door opened. Mokuba looked at the entrance and saw his brother with his arms crossed in his usual style.

"I thought you were in your room. What are you doing here?"

"I was showing my playmate the technology we have", Mokuba explained in a biting tone. Seto seemed to ignore this as he scanned the room.

"Your playmate?" Seto questioned. He looked very worried. Mokuba then noticed that Mabel had vanished like before. The Mystical Elf was gone as well. The card laid on the floor, like it was dropped.

"I swear! She was here! And she made this card-" Mokuba picked up the card and showed it to his brother. "- come alive! I saw it before my very own eyes! You got to believe me!"

Seto reacted like Mokuba spoke in a foreign tongue. "What are you talking about? All I see here is you babbling about some playmate and-" Seto didn't get to finish before Mokuba threw his hands up in the air, screamed in frustration and ran out of the room. Seto was stunned at Mokuba's reaction. He then walked to the closest wall and hit his head with it.

He did it again. He pushed him away like he did before. Seto knew that he was not the most sociable person in the world yet this was not acceptable behaviour in his standards. Mokuba was his brother- the only person he really cared about since their parents' death. He hated to think what Mokuba thought of him now. He thought deeply. Mokuba said that he has a playmate. He must be talking about an imaginary playmate- one that was very real to him. However there was no way that an imaginary playmate could do what Mokuba claimed. Seto better check up on this later. Something was going on and he did want it to have a bad impact on his little brother. As for now, he had to go to sleep.

Mokuba was back on his bed crying. He had his arms around his head as he laid on his stomach. Things were not going well at all. Maybe he lost his mind. Still it didn't feel any better that Seto reacted in a way that left him humiliated. He then felt someone touching his shoulder.

"What- Mabel!" Mokuba changed his tone from irritation to surprise. "Mabel, how come you disappear every time my brother enters the room?"

Mabel seemed to be taken aback. "Why did you say that? I am your playmate. I only appear before you". She then saw his wet eyes. "Not this again!"

"Yes", Mokuba wiped his eyes. "But let's forget about that. It is going to be a long night. I have to get up early for school. Not that I am looking forward to that".

"Mean teacher?"

"How did you know?"

"I had many playmates that complained about their teachers. I can deal with mean teachers like I can with mean brothers. What is the problem with your teacher?"

"She knows my brother is a genius so she expects me to be smart too". He laid his head low. "But I am not. I tried to be as smart as him but I always fail. Still my teacher thinks I should be a genius as well. It is not fair!"

"I know it is not fair. Let me handle your teacher. I can found out myself what your teacher is really like. Some teachers are just pushy but not mean. But don't worry about that. I know how to handle mean teachers. May I ask your teacher's name?"

"Her name is Miss Oshi", Mokuba replied.

"Let me talk to Miss Oshi for you. I just want your consent because I have to take over your body to do this'.

Mokuba was shocked. "Why would you want to take over my body? How are you going to do that?"

"I go to your mind when I disappeared. I reside in your consciousness but I don't take over it. With your consent I can take over and impersonate you. I can use your mouth to speak and use your body to move. Your teacher would not know the difference between you and me. And I can use my powers when I want to. Do we have a deal?" She looked right into his eyes.

"I am glad that you told me this. I have to admit I do not feel totally comfortable with this but I trust in you. You are probably better at speaking to the teacher than I would".

Don't sell yourself short Mo-ku-ba. When you want me to take over, tell me in your head and I shall do so. I am not going to force you to do this. I respect your right to choose".

"Thank you Mabel. I feel more comfortable now", Mokuba said. "You won't mess with my mind will would you?"

"Oh no! I shall never do that! Your privacy is safe!" Mabel exclaimed. "You and I are completely separated from one another so I do not have access to your memories unless you allow me to".

"That's a relief" Mokuba breathed a sigh. "Well I better get ready to go to sleep. Good night Mabel".

"I promised not to interfere with your mind. I wouldn't want you to hate me. Good night Mo-ku-ba". She then disappeared.

Mabel was happy. In her "room"- a part of Mokuba's mind that she reside- Mabel wrote down in her diary- a journal she always carried from playmate to playmate.

The newest entry reads:

Today was a very good day. I got a new playmate. It's a boy. His first name is Mokuba. He is from a foreign country. I don't know about his parents. I think they died. His big brother raises him. They are very rich. His brother owns a company called Kaiba Corporation. He makes holographic simulators and game systems. However he does not want to spend time with Mokuba. I can understand that he might be a bit busy but every time they meet Mokuba becomes upset. It hurts me to see Mokuba like this. I shall deal with his brother soon. I know have to deal with Miss Oshi or Miss Ochi. I don't know how to spell her name. In any case she is not being fair with Mokuba, comparing him to his genius brother. I think he is a good playmate and I do not want anyone to hurt his feelings. I am going to speak to her and found out more about this. I hate mean teachers and I hate mean brothers as well. I just hope Mokuba knows more about games than this card game called Duel Monsters. See you soon, Mabel.

At that Mabel closed the journal. She went inside her canopy bed- a place where she will rest and conceal herself from the dreams that Mokuba will dream. Now all she has to do is to wait until Mokuba gave his consent for her to take over.

The next day she shall put Miss Oshi and Mokuba's brother in their place.

End of Chapter One

This is probably going to be my only Yu-Gi-Oh story I will upload. I do not like the dubbed second season at all. It seemed so dark and cold compared to the dubbed first season. I only go to the Yu-Gi-Oh section of to read stories on Seto and Mokuba or any Joey-related stories (or Chibizoo's fics- she is a great writer). Yu-Gi-Oh was created by Kazuki Takahashi. You can e-mail me at or at I hope you enjoy the first chapter. Do not forget to review!


	2. Mabel Goes Into Action

Chapter Two of "Imaginary Playmate" by Melinda The Digimon Poet

Sorry for the long delay. I hope you have been patient. And thanks for all the reviews! I hope you enjoy this second chapter!

Mokuba felt like a burglar in his own home as he went to the kitchen and prepared breakfast. It was barely dawn and he knew that Seto might wake up and found him but he did not care. He put the fish, rice and vegetables on the small plates and put them on the tray. He then poured the tea in little cups. He felt proud. And he did it without his brother's help.

"Mokuba, what are you doing?" Seto's voice made Mokuba almost drop the tray. The dark-haired boy turned around. He saw that his brown-haired brother was in his blue school uniform. Seto looked at him in utter surprise.

"I am making breakfast for me and my playmate", Mokuba replied in a bitter tone. "I am going to my bedroom. Don't worry. I'll eat on the floor". With that, Mokuba left the kitchen.

Seto could not believe it. This has gone too far. Seto knew that his playmate could not be real. Yet apparently Mokuba thought it was real. This concerned Seto. Was Mokuba so into his fantasy world that he had lost touch with reality? He wondered about Mokuba's mental health. Could something be wrong? Seto knew he had to take action. But first he planned to go back to his room and do more work on his project that was due that Friday. He could not waste a single minute. And he proceeded to do that.

In his bedroom, Mokuba laid the tray down on the floor gently as he sat down. It was then that he summoned his playmate.

"Mabel! Come on out!" Mokuba yelled out. A bright light appeared. A small version of himself appeared beside him. It took a second for Mabel to look around.

"I am not in your school. Why did you summon me?" Mabel asked.

"I want you to eat with me", Mokuba answered.

"You can eat on the floor?" Mabel asked, astonished.

"As long as I don't make a mess I don't think my brother would mind", Mokuba said. He picked up his white chopsticks. Mabel's eyes widened when she saw them.

"Those are chopsticks! Now I know why your name is so strange! I am very far away from where my last playmate was", Mabel said. She picked up her own chopsticks. I forgot how to use them though".

"Let me show you", Mokuba said. "Cup your hand and put your thumb apart from your fingers. Place one of your chopsticks-it does not matter which one- between your thumb and the rest of your hand. Rest it against the base of your index finger and the tip of your fourth finger". Mokuba smiled as he saw Mabel try to do as he instructed. He then gave her the second chopstick. "Now place the other chopstick parallel with the first and hold it like a pencil. Now tap it on the floor to make the ends even". Mabel did just so. "Now move the top one- try not to move the bottom chopstick as you do- by flexing your index and middle fingers up and down. Now bring the tips together".

"Like this?" Mabel asked, trying to bring the chopsticks together.

"You are a little slow but that's good", Mokuba said. "I am sure you'll get the hang of it once you practice". Mokuba picked up a piece of fish with his own chopsticks. "Now you try it".

"Okay", Mabel said as she tried to pick a piece of fish from her own plate. She managed to do it after a few tries. "I think I got the hang of this now".

"Good", Mokuba said. "I am glad that you are my friend".

"I am glad to hear that. You're such a nice person. I am sure that one day you'll have many friends. Tell me, do you have chocolate ice cream?"

"I don't know", Mokuba answered. He then saw Mabel's sad face. "But I can check for you". Mabel's face brightened.

"Thank you so much! I don't need to eat but I love chocolate ice cream! You can have my breakfast if you like", Mabel said. She then saw Mokuba's face turned sad. "What is wrong Mo-ku-ba?"

"I have to go to school soon. I am not sure I want to go. I told you about Miss Oshi. She is so critical of me", Mokuba explained. Mabel put her chopsticks down.

"I told you that I will take care of your teacher so you don't need to worry. Just go to school and I'll take care of the rest", Mabel told him.

"You're right. I'll let you talk to her after school is over. You can go now. My brother is not going to believe I ate with you anyway", Mokuba said.

"You don't need to worry about your brother either. I am going to take care of him too. You just leave everything to me", Mabel said. Mokuba smiled.

"Okay. I will call out in my mind when I want you", Mokuba said.

"I shall wait for it then", Mabel said. She then vanished, returning to Mokuba's mind. As for Mokuba, he decided to finish breakfast and prepare for school. And he did just that.

Mokuba was at school now. He stared at a white piece of paper. He held the pencil in his hand but he did not move it. The clock on the wall ticked away. His mind was blank.

"Is there any problems Kaiba?" the teacher asked. She loomed over the black-haired boy, staring at him with her wide-rimmed glasses.

"No Miss Oshi", Mokuba answered.

"I noticed that you haven't written anything. You did study for the test I presume?" Miss Oshi said. There were a few snickers heard behind him.

"Yes I did Miss Oshi", Mokuba answered.

"Just remember you have thirsty more minutes", the teacher said. She then turned around and started to go to her desk. Mokuba took a deep breath.

"Miss Oshi, may I talk to you after class?" Mokuba asked.

She stopped and glanced back at him. "Of course you can. I'll see you after class then". She then went back to her desk.

Mokuba had done what he had to do. He had arranged to speak with Miss Oshi. Mabel had said that she would take care of matters from then on. He did not know the full extent of her powers but he trusted her. He told her so. He gained his self-confidence. He then went back to his test and started writing.

It was the end of the class. Mokuba waited until all his classmates had left the room. It was then that he got out of his desk.

"Mabel! You can take over now! It is time!" Mokuba called out in his mind.

"Okay! Do not resist me!" Mabel replied. Mokuba then went to a part of his brain where he would wait until Mabel is done.

"Shall we begin?" 'Mokuba' asked the teacher. Her eyes glared darkly at the teacher. (It should be noted that Mabel would continue to be referred to as 'she' even though Mokuba, whose body she took over, is a male).

"Yes we should", Miss Oshi said, not paying any attention to 'Mokuba's' glare or the tone of her voice. "Sit down please".

As much as 'Mokuba' resented this, she complied. The teacher of course did not know Mokuba was now Mabel. 'Mokuba' figured she better do as the teacher said until she can properly judge the teacher.

"Before you begin, I want to address something. I know your brother is Seto Kaiba so I expect marks that would show it. You have disappointed me. I don't think you're reaching your potential", the teacher said.

"What makes you think I am not?" 'Mokuba' asked.

"It is apparent that intelligence runs through your family. It seems to me that you're under-achieving. I want you to work harder. Surely you can do that", Miss Oshi told her.

'Mokuba' resisted rolling her eyes. She knew that it would not be proper. "I know my brother is smart. You forgot, however, that I am Mokuba and not Seto. I never said I was a genius".

The teacher felt insulted. "I know that! I am not an idiot! Still your marks need improvement. I am sure your brother will agree with me once I show him your marks", the teacher said. She grinned maliciously.

'Mokuba's' eyes grew wide. She knew that was a threat. She didn't know how bad Mokuba's marks were but from previous experiences with other playmates she knew that Mokuba's brother might get mad and upset and even ground him. She did not want Mokuba to be even unhappier.

Not to mention that the teacher was getting really, really annoying.

"I am not going to let you", 'Mokuba' said. Her eyes turned red.

"Oh and what are you going to stop me?" the teacher inquired. Her eyes then went wide. Since when did Mokuba have red eyes?

This time it was 'Mokuba's' turn to grin maliciously. "I am going to turn you into play dough!" Before Miss Oshi could respond, 'Mokuba' snapped her fingers. Miss Oshi was now a play dough figure on the floor.

Mabel continued to grin as she played with the play dough. She poked holes in the brown dress. She then broke the arms and put them crisscrossing on the body. Mabel took a long look at it. She then rolled the body up into a ball and tossed it into the air.

"I am bored", Mabel declared. She then looked at the clock. It was almost five o'clock. "I better get going. I don't want Mokuba's brother to be mad for a good reason". She snapped her fingers. A small toy chest appeared. "I'll play with you later". She put the play dough ball into the chest. The toy chest then disappeared. "I better tell Mokuba that I am done with Miss Oshi. I can't wait to go home and play with him some more!" She left the class in a hurry.

A few seconds later, Mokuba- now back in control- returned to the class, grabbed his backpack and went out again.

Mokuba and Mabel were now on his bed. Mabel had just played a Judge Man. Mokuba then out down his card.

"Man-Eater Bug!" Mokuba exclaimed.

"Ha ha! Judge Man has 2200 attack points and the Man-Eater Bug has only 600! Your card cannot beat me!" Mabel said.

"It is an effect card. It automatically destroys one card on the field", Mokuba explained. Mabel looked at the card.

"I guess I have to send Judge Man to the graveyard", Mabel said. She was about to take the card when the door opened. Mokuba saw it was Seto. He had an ice pack on his head.

"What's wrong big brother?" Mokuba asked. His concern overcame his bitterness.

"I got a headache", Seto answered. "Listen, Mokuba, I need to ask you to do something. Please don't come to my room. I need to work on my project. It is due this Friday and I can't have any interruptions".

Since when did his brother consider him an interruption? Mokuba let down his head. "I understand".

"Good. Now that is settled, I am going back to work", Seto said. He then left the room.

Mokuba pounded his fists on the bed. "I have had enough! What's so wrong with me that he does not want to spend time with me? Is his work so important that he would neglect his own brother? I wish that he realized that I have feelings too!" He then cried. This lasted for a few minutes then he calmed down. It was then that Mabel reappeared.

"He really hurt you this time did he?" Mabel asked.

"Yeah", Mokuba answered. Mabel got off the bed and went to the door.

"Where are you going?" Mokuba asked her.

"I am going to talk to your brother" Mabel answered. "I think I may be able to put some sense in him". She then lowered her voice. "Or else I'll take other measures".

"He told me that he did not want me in his room", Mokuba told her.

"You're not going to his room. I am not going to assume your identity. As your playmate I will talk to him as your spokesperson", Mabel answered.

"He may not believe you", Mokuba said.

"It does not matter. You want me to talk to him. I am fulfilling that. Besides I rather do it now than wait when he is too absorbed in his work. What do you think?" Mabel told him.

"You have a point. You can go. He got a headache so be careful", Mokuba said. Mabel nodded and closed the door.

"Don't worry Mo-ku-ba. It won't last long", Mabel said as she went into the hallway. She then searched for Seto's room.

Seto Kaiba was having a bad day.

With one hand on the ice pack and the other one typing away, Seto was at work. The thought of Mokuba was far from his mind. After all, he told Mokuba about his situation and his brother understood. Of course he noticed that his brother was not happy about it. Seto had already planned a vacation for both of them so that did not matter. He knew that Friday was only a few days away and that the project must go smmothly. In his mind then his work came first.

The door then suddenly opened. Seto saw it was Mokuba, or at least he thought it was Mokuba.

"We need to talk", 'Mokuba' said, putting 'his' hands on 'his' hips.

"Mokuba I old you not to come here", Seto said.

"We need to talk", 'Mokuba' said. Then 'he' added, "And I am not moving until we do!"

Seto let out a low grunt. "This better be important", he muttered. "Very well. What do you want?"

"What is more important? Your work or your brother?" 'Mokuba' asked.

"What kind of question is that? I know that my work seem to be occupying much of my time but I can't waste a single minute", Seto said. "May you please leave? You told me that you'd not interfere".

"I am not Mo-ku-ba", 'Mokuba' said. 'His' red eyes glared at him.

"What-what are you then?" Seto asked.

"I am Mabel his playmate. I saw how upset and angry you made Mo-ku-ba and I am here to speak to you until you agree to spend time with him", Mabel said with a little bitterness.

Seto could not believe it. "I must be overworking or maybe it's the pain medication or stress", he said to himself. "I can't be going out of my mind". He then spoke to her. "Listen I don't care what you are. I need to get things done. Not that I actually believe that you are Mokuba's imaginary playmate you know".

Mabel waved her arms up and down. "Do I look imaginary to you? I know what I can do. I'll make you into a doll. Then Mo-ku-ba and I can play with you for a week. Then you'll see I am real". And before Seto could respond, Mabel had snapped her fingers. The CEO had just turned into a small stuffed Seto doll. Mabel picked it up, squeezed it and smiled.

"You look cute as a doll do you know that?" Mabel said as she petted the Seto doll's brown hair. "I am going to have fun with you. Now I shall go back to your little brother". The Seto doll did not respond. This did not bother Mabel as she returned to Mokuba's room.

"I am back Mo-ku-ba!" Mabel announced. "You do not have to worry about your brother. I have settled things for you".

"Thank you so much. I know I could count on you", Mokuba said, very happy. Then he saw the Seto doll in her arms. "B-Big brother?"

"He didn't believe I was real so I made him into a doll", Mabel explained. "Plus he didn't want to talk to me about you. Maybe this would teach him a lesson". Mabel went up on the bed and put the brown-haired doll on it. "He can watch us play the rest of this game. What do you think Mo-ku-ba?" Mabel did not get a response. "Mo-ku-ba?"

Mokuba was stunned and a little frightened. "You-You turned my brother into a doll? How-How could you do that? Change him back!"

"Firsy we play with him. Then he can be changed him back. I'll not hurt him. I just want him to know I am real. Plus it's easier to play with someone when he or she is a doll. Do you agree?" Mabel told him. "What's wrong?"

"You changed my brother into a doll and you expect me to be okay? I want you to change him back!" Mokuba ordered.

"So he can ignore you and be there for you only when it is suitable for him? What makes you think he'll change?" Mabel pounded the questions at him. Mokuba looked at the Seto doll in sorrow.

"At least he would not be a doll", Mokuba answered. "I am serious about changing him back. So do it", he commanded.

Mabel's eyes glared at him. "I am your playmate, not your dog".

"But my brother has a company to run. You can't expect a doll to run a company", Mokuba said. "And he has school. You don't expect him to go to school as a doll do you?"

"Why are you so concerned about your brother all of a sudden? I thought you didn't care about him", Mabel said as she cocked an eyebrow.

"I didn't want him to be turned into a doll!" Mokuba protested.

Mabel rolled her eyes. "I wish you humans could make up your minds! You don't want him, and then you want him. I didn't kill him. We can play with him and he won't talk back. What more do you want?"

Mokuba didn't know what to say. "I-I didn't think you would turn him into a doll. Please change him back for me".

Mabel thought for a second, and then her face brightened. "I know what to do! I'll change you into a doll so you can be with your brother and I can play with both of you together!" And before Mokuba could reply, Mabel snapped her fingers. Mokuba was now a doll like Seto, just smaller.

Mabel felt happy. "Well that solves that problem. Now I can play with them together. Too bad Mokuba didn't have any friends. I like to play with them as well". She then put the Mokuba doll next to the Seto doll. "You can watch me play the rest of this game, is that okay?" There was no response. "I wish you guys could talk". Still there was no response. Mabel shrugged. She then went to play the rest of the card game.

It was the next morning. Mabel was still playing with the dolls when there was a knock on the door. Curious, Mabel went out of the bed and opened the door.

A little bald man with glasses in a suit was there. He smiled at 'him'. "Ah Master Mokuba, I see that you are well. You didn't come for breakfast. Neither did your brother. Master Seto. Do you want any breakfast?"

Mabel looked at the man. This man must be a servant, she thought. "Um no. But do you have any chocolate ice cream?" She asked, trying to look as cute as possible. The question took the man by surprise.

"I don't think you should have ice cream when you haven't had your breakfast. I don't think your brother, Master Seto, would like that at all", the servant said. Mabel put her hands on her hips.

"Who is the master and who is the servant?" Mabel asked him.

"Of course you are-"

"Good. Now get me a bowl of chocolate ice cream and a cup of tea please", Mabel said. She closed the door. Then she opened it again. "Oh yeah. After you give me the ice cream and tea, I do not need you anymore. You can leave". Mabel then closed the door for good.

Some time later, a limousine parked in front of the Kaiba mansion. Men in black suits with guns came out.

In the meantime, in the bedroom, Mabel licked the bowl and spoon. "That was good! I love ice cream! It is the best food ever! And this tea is not bad either!" She sipped from the cup. "I am going to find the kitchen. Maybe there are more treats". Mabel put the bowl, spoon and cup on the silver tray. She looked at her dolls. "I am going to find the kitchen. I will not be long". She then left the bedroom. The Mokuba doll fell sideways at the Seto doll.

Mabel went through the mansion in search of the kitchen. At the same time the armed men entered the mansion and moved through the mansion. Mabel suddenly heard heavy footsteps. Thinking the sound might be from a servant, she went toward the sound, only to stop at the corner. She saw that there were men with guns. She had seen enough TV shows and played enough video games to know what a real gun look like and what it can do. She put the tray on the floor and kept herself out of sight.

"You see any of the Kaibas around?" one of the men asked.

"Nah. Let's split up and search for them. Then we'll bring them down" another man told the rest. They all grinned maliciously.

"They want to hurt my dolls! I got to protect them!" Mabel said to herself. She then went into the view of the men.

"Hey that's Mokuba!" one of the men yelled. The leader, the man with trimmed yellow hair, grinned sweetly at the boy or at least he thought.

"Why hello there Mokuba!" one of the men yelled. "Where is your brother?"

"Seto is not here", Mabel said. "Why are you here?"

"We want to 'talk' to him but you will be just fine", the man said. He then pointed his gun at her. "Now come with us so we can have a little 'chat'''.

Mabel was no fool. She knew that the men were up to no good. She had to use her powers or the men are going to hurt her dolls. And then she will have no dolls to play with.

"You're a very bad man! All of you are very bad! I am going to turn all of you into jigsaw puzzles and your guns into toy guns!" Mabel declared. The men looked confused but Mabel snapped her fingers before they could do anything else. The men turned into jigsaw puzzles right on the floor. The guns turned into small toy guns and plopped on the floor. "Time for my two toy chests to appear!" She snapped her fingers twice. Two toy chests appeared. "I shall play with the bad men later". She then gathered all the jigsaw pieces she could and put them in the red toy chest. She did this until there were no more pieces on the floor. "Now to get rid of the toy guns", Mabel spoke. "Come out my pet!" A gray-haired hand came out of the black toy chest. "Here are the guns. Play with them or get rid of them I don't care". The claw then grabbed the toy guns and brought them down into the toy chest. Mabel snapped her fingers twice and the toy chests disappeared. 

She then took a card from one of her pockets. "And to make sure no one else is going to hurt my dolls, I am going to let out a monster to guard this place! Man-Eater Bug!" The effect monster appeared. "Protect this place unless the person wants to play with me or I tell you to do otherwise!" Mabel commanded. "Now that I got that done with, I can get back to the kitchen and get back to playing with my dolls". And that it was what she did.

It was not long, however, before others realized that something happened to Seto and Mokuba.

End of Chapter Two

It took a while to complete this but I finally did it. I hope it wasn't too confusing. Yu-Gi-Oh is the creation of Kazuki Takahashi and 4Kids Productions. You can e-mail me at Melicadar@yahoo.com for any comments. I plan to have a question-and-answer part at the end of the story so you can get your questions ready now. Any appropriate questions please. I apologize for the long wait but I hope you enjoy this chapter. And do not forget to review!


	3. New Playmates For Mabel?

**Chapter Three of "Imaginary Playmate" **

**By Melinda-chan**

I had to re-do my draft (I always write on paper first) when I accidentally ruined it. Fortunately, it was only water so I was able to write what I saw on the first paper with a few changes. I was quite upset and I hope everyone understands. This chapter would have been uploaded sooner.

Now that I am done with that, let the chapter begin!

Anzu ran to Domino High School. She normally had Yugi with her but she was late. What time was it? She wondered. She wished she had a watch. Anzu was glad that she was fit since most girls would be out of breath by now. Her face brightened when she saw her friends at the school's entrance.

"Hello Yugi! Jonouchi! Honda! I am so sorry! I was watching something on TV and forgot the time!" Anzu explained.

"I was so worried! I thought you might have been sick! I was going to call your home after I got home!" Yugi said.

"What was so important on TV that you almost missed school?" Honda asked as they went inside.

"It was a news special," Anzu told them. "Something happened at the Kaiba mansion."

"Oh? What is he up to?" Jonouchi asked in disdain.

"That's the problem," Anzu answered. "No one knows." This caused the boys to look more interested.

"What do you mean?" Yugi inquired. "Is something wrong with Kaiba?"

"According to the news special, Seto and Mokuba have not been seen the past two days. There is an investigation but so far no one knows what happened."

"Do you mean no one has a clue what happened to them?" Yugi asked her.

"No I don't think anyone does. Some people tried to get into the mansion but they say that something prevents them."

"Is that so?" a soft-spoken voice sounded, causing the four to look at the source of the voice.

"Hey Bakura! How are you doing?" Yugi questioned. The white-haired teen walked to them and smiled.

"I am doing fine thank you," Bakura answered. His face then turned serious. "I also heard that Seto Kaiba had disappeared in his mansion. When a search was made, they encountered a monster that looked like a gigantic bug that attacked them. Not even Kaiba's people have been able to search for them."

"A gigantic bug? Was it a real monster?" Yugi asked.

"It apparently is. And the creepiest thing is that the description of it matches the description of the Man-Eater Bug" Bakura said.

"You mean the monster from the Magic and Wizards card game?" Yugi asked. ("Magic and Wizards" is the original name for Duel Monsters.)

"Yes" Bakura nodded. "It sounds like something is very wrong."

"You don't think one of Kaiba's virtual game systems had gone amok?" Honda asked. "That could explain the monsters." Yugi imagined the sorts of monsters that may now be roaming inside the mansion.

"We have to find out what's wrong!" Yugi exclaimed. "Kaiba may be in great danger! He may need our help!"

"Yeah right! Like he is going to thank us!" Jonouchi retorted. "He'll probably just tell us to leave."

"Still we need to help him and Mokuba! They could be in great danger!" Yugi exclaimed. "We have to go there and save them!"

"Then why don't we go to the mansion and find out the problem and solve it before it gets worse?" Honda suggested.

"Alright" Jonouchi said. "I guess I'll go too."

"We better do it after school" Anzu told them. "The sooner we do it, the better!"

"Okay! We'll go to the mansion after school! I just hope it wouldn't take too long! I don't want Grandpa to get worried about me!" Yugi said. Jonouchi, Honda and Anzu all nodded.

"In any case we should go to class now," Anzu said.

"I wish you the best of luck," Bakura said. "We don't want any monsters to escape from the Kaiba mansion."

"You said it right, Bakura. Classes are going to start so we all should leave now," Yugi said.

"First, school, then the Kaiba mansion!" Jonouchi said, lifting his right fist up. "Let's go! I can't want to get started!" Everybody but Bakura started walking.

"I never thought you would be this excited for school!" Honda teased.

"I'm just excited at kicking monster butt!" Jonouchi exclaimed.

"Sure you are," Anzu laughed.

"What does that mean?" Jonouchi demanded. Now everybody laughed, including Bakura. The white-haired boy's expression then changed as the group pulled away from him.

"Hey Bakura! Class is going to start!" Yugi yelled.

"I am coming!" Bakura yelled back. He ran to catch up with them. There would be time to think later.

"Do you think we can enter?" Anzu asked. She, Yugi, Jonouchi and Honda were at the front of the Kaiba mansion. They were still in their school uniforms.

"What makes you think we can't?" Jonouchi questioned.

"I don't know. I suppose the yellow tape that reads 'Do Not Trespass' does not mean anything" Anzu said. This did not faze Jonouchi.

"We'll just climb the gate," Jonouchi said. He grabbed hold of the gate and started to climb on it.

"Jonouchi! We can't do that! We might get caught!" Yugi yelled out. As much as he wanted to help Kaiba, he didn't want to explain to his Grandpa why he was calling from the police station.

"No one here is watching us, Yugi" Jonouchi said. He was now halfway up the gate. "Don't be a scaredy-cat! I am doing fine!"

"I guess it would be alright," Yugi said. He turned to Anzu. "Anzu, why don't you go up before me and Honda?" Anzu clutched her skirt.

"So you can look up my skirt? No way!" Anzu exclaimed. Yugi went red in embarrassment. "I can't believe you would suggest that! You and Honda go up first then I will go!"

"Um, okay. Why don't you go up only when Honda and I are over the gate then?" Yugi asked.

"I guess so" Anzu answered. "I'll be staying on the ground until you go down, okay?"

"Okay, Anzu," Yugi said. So he and Honda went up the gate. Yugi kept his head upward so he would not look down.

"Be careful Anzu!" Yugi shouted when he and Honda were on the other side. Anzu gripped the bars of the gate and used her feet to balance herself while she went up.

"Okay here I go!" Anzu went up the gate. She then went over it. She looked at the boys. "You guys better not be below my skirt! I am going down!" She then dropped down. She landed on her feet but she lost her balance and fell butt first on the ground. The boys gathered around her.

"Are you alright Anzu?" Yugi asked, concerned. Jonouchi and Honda were about to help her when she got up by herself and wiped the back of her skirt.

"I am fine. At least we are at the other side of the gate" Anzu replied. They now all looked at the mansion.

"This is it" Yugi said, taking a deep breath.

"Let's found out what happened to Kaiba," Jonouchi said. They all nodded. They then ran toward the mansion.

They did not know but Mabel was watching from a window. She saw them run to the mansion. She was happy.

"Oh boy! More playmates for me! And they even brought a girl!" Mabel exclaimed. She then looked at the Seto and Mokuba dolls. "I better take you back to the bedroom." She then took them to Mokuba's bedroom. There were teacups and bowls all over the floor. "I think all the tea has gone cold. I should make more tea." She then drank the remaining tea from the cups. "Yummy! I'll empty my kettle for you two." She then refilled two cups. "I'll make some more now. My new playmates might want some. I better put these bowls in the sink. I'll clean them later." She then gathered the bowls and put the kettle atop of them. "I am going back to the kitchen. I wouldn't be there for long okay?" The dolls did not respond. "I really wish that you two could talk." They still didn't say anything. She then left the room. The Seto doll then fell head-first into the tea cup.

Meanwhile, in another part of the mansion, Yugi, Jonouchi, Anzu and Honda were inside the mansion.

"I can't believe we got in so easily!" Yugi exclaimed.

"Yeah. You expect guards to be here or something," Jonouchi said.

"So what do we do now?" Honda asked.

Yugi looked all around. White walls stared back at him. He heard nothing strange. It was like the mansion was abandoned. He looked at his friends. They looked back at him in return.

"We know that this place is big. We could be here all night. I think we should split up. That way we could cover more ground," Yugi suggested.

"Remember what Bakura said about monsters roaming around," Jonouchi reminded him. "They're probably not real but that might not mean anything."

"I almost forgot that!" Yugi gasped. "What are we going to do?"

"Beats me. I mean we're not in a virtual game system so they might be harmless" Honda told them.

"In that case, the police and Kaiba's employees wouldn't have a problem with them," Anzu said. "I know this may sound crazy but I don't think whoever is responsible for this is normal."

'Someone with the power to create monsters and put them in the real world. I don't think my other self could do that' Yugi thought.

"In any case, what are we going to do about the monsters?" Jonouchi asked. "We can't just scare them away." It was then when Anzu saw something coming at Jonouchi and Honda.

"Maybe we should run," Anzu said, looking worried as the giant bug got closer and closer to her tall friends.

"Why should we do that Anzu?" Jonouchi asked, puzzled. It was then that Yugi looked up and saw the monster.

"Right behind you, Jonouchi and Honda! It's the Man-Eater Bug!" Yugi yelled. Jonouchi and Honda immediately turned around.

"Oh my God! It's huge!" Jonouchi exclaimed. "Yugi, what can it do?"

"It's not a powerful monster but it can automatically destroy any monster on the field, no matter how powerful it is" Yugi explained.

"So in other words, it can eat one of us whole" Jonouchi said.

"Yeah that's about it" Yugi replied.

"There is only one thing to do then," Honda said. He then saw the monster opened its mouth, revealing its sharp teeth. "Run!" They all turned around and headed for the hallway. "Yugi! Anzu! Go in one direction! Jonouchi and I will go in another! It can't follow all of us that way!"

"Okay!" Anzu yelled. "Yugi, follow me!" At first Yugi was hesitant but when he saw her go to the right side of the hallway, he followed her. They ran as fast as they could. After a few minutes, Anzu looked back and then stopped. Yugi did too.

"Why did you stop?" Yugi asked her.

"It's not chasing us" Anzu answered.

"You mean the Man-Eater Bug went after Jonouchi and Honda?!" Yugi said. "We need to go after it!"

"We don't even know where it went" Anzu reasoned. "I know it sounds cruel but we have to leave them behind-"

"No we can't! Jonouchi and Honda might be in trouble!" Yugi yelled at her. Anzu could see that he was getting very upset.

"Calm down Yugi! I am sure that they got away safely," Anzu said. 'I hope' she thought. She was about to say something else when she saw something behind him. "Um, Yugi, we got a worse problem of our own." Yugi looked back to see a Blue Eyes White Dragon monster standing behind them, preventing them from going back down the hallway. It roared.

"The Blue Eyes White Dragon! It is the most powerful monster in Magic and Wizards! We better get out of here!" Yugi yelled. Anzu did not object. Instead, she took him by the left hand and ran around the corner. Just as they did, the Blue Eyes White Dragon let out a blast. It created a hole on the other side of the wall.

"Did you heat that, Yugi? That monster is real!" Anzu exclaimed. Yugi nodded as he saw it over his right shoulder.

'Jonouchi, Honda, I hope you both are okay,' Yugi thought. He had no choice but to escape with Anzu from the great blue-white dragon. He only hoped that his friends escaped the Man-Eater Bug.

In the meantime Jonouchi and Honda were still running from the monster. Both boys were breathing hard as they ran hallway after hallway. The Man-Eater Bug effortlessly chased them.

"Man, what can we do to outrun it?" Jonouchi asked Honda.

"I don't need to outrun it" Honda replied. Jonouchi looked surprised. "All I need is to outrun you."

"Yeah-hey!" Jonouchi yelled. He was about to say more when he tripped. As an attempt to hold onto something, he grabbed onto the back of Honda's school uniform causing both of them to fall down. The Man-Eater Bug looked down at them with a seemingly hungry expression on its face.

"This is the end Honda," Jonouchi said, clutching his friend's shoulders as he cried. "I will always remember you, Honda! You were my very best friend, Honda!"

"So were you, Jonouchi!" Honda said, crying as well. They hugged each other and cried as the Man-Eater Bug watched on. They waited for the monster to open its mouth and seal their doom.

Only it didn't come.

"That's enough! Man-Eater Bug, return!" a voice sounded. The monster then disappeared. Honda and Jonouchi looked at the direction of the voice.

"Hey it's Mokuba!" Honda exclaimed. He and Jonouchi then looked at each other as if they realized that they were still holding each other so they separated their arms and they landed on the floor. The two teens stood up and looked down at 'Mokuba'.

"So Mokuba, what happned? You and Seto haven't been seen for two days!" Jonouchi said. 'Mokuba' did not respond. "So where is Seto? Not that I really care."

"I can show you Set-o if you want me to" 'Mokuba' said quietly.

"Why not? The worst thing Seto could do is ask us to leave" Honda said to Jonouchi. "And we can find Yugi and Anzu and tell them that Seto and Mokuba are okay and get out of here." Jonouchi nodded.

"Alright" Jonouchi replied. He then turned to 'Mokuba'. "Lead us to Seto."

'Mokuba' nodded and took them to a door. 'He' opened it.

"This is where Seto is," 'Mokuba' said. Jonouchi and Honda looked inside.

"Where is he?" Jonouchi asked.

"He's on the floor" 'Mokuba answered. The two teens looked down and was astonished to see a brown-haired doll with the likeness of Seto Kaiba with its head partially in a teacup. They then saw a black-haired doll with the likeness of Mokuba next to a filled teacup. "Here he is." 'Mokuba' then picked up the Seto doll and handed it to Jonouchi. "And this is Mo-ku-ba." 'He' then picked up the Mokuba doll and handed it to Honda. They examined them.

"I knew that Seto made toys but I didn't think he would make dolls, especially of him and Mokuba" Honda said. "They are perfect replicas of them." 'Mokuba' looked pleased.

"And they look so cute too," Jonouchi said. He then looked at 'Mokuba'. "These are nice but we were looking for the real Seto."

"They are the real Set-o and Mo-ku-ba" 'Mokuba' replied.

"Woah!" Jonouchi exclaimed. He then accidentally dropped the Seto doll onto the floor. "Oops! Sorry there, Seto!"

"You mean you're not Mokuba?" Honda questioned, still holding the Mokuba doll.

"I am Mabel," she replied. "Set-o was not being a good big brother so I made him into a doll. Mo-ku-ba got upset with me. I was afraid he might not want me anymore so I made him into a doll and now we can be together forever or until I don't want him anymore." Jonouchi and Honda's eyes went wide in horror.

"You mean you're the one that made them into dolls?" Jonouchi asked her. He then saw the Man-Eater Bug card in her hands. "And you're the one that made that card come alive!"

"Yes" Mabel responded. Jonouchi turned to Honda.

"One of us got to find Yugi and Anzu and get them here," Jonouchi said to Honda in a low voice.

"I'll do it. I thought something strange was going on," Honda replied. "I thought this Mokuba was a little too small."

"I'll keep this fake Mokuba busy until you get Yugi and Anzu here" Jonouchi said. Honda nodded. He then handed the Mokuba doll to him.

"Take care of Seto and Mokuba. And do be careful, Jonouchi. We don't know what other tricks this fake Mokuba can do," Honda said. Jonouchi nodded. They then turned to Mabel.

"My friend Honda is going to find our other friends Yugi and Anzu while I stay with you. Is that okay?" Jonouchi asked Mabel. She nodded.

"Okay. I don't mind having more playmates," she answered.

"Honda, try to get them here as fast as you can!" Jonouchi told him.

"I will! See you later, Jonouchi! And good luck!" Honda said as he went to the door. He was then gone.

"So what do you like to play?" Mabel asked.

"Do you know how to play Magic and Wizards?" Jonouchi asked. Mabel scowled.

"I already know how to play it" Mabel answered. "Mo-ku-ba taught me. Is the game that popular?"

"You bet" Jonouchi answered. "There are tournaments that players can go and win prizes. My friend Yugi is a great player. He even beat Pegasus Crawford, the creator, and Seto Kaiba, the world champion."

"Is he really that great?" Mabel asked.

"If you don't believe me, then wait until Honda gets him and see for yourself" Jonouchi nodded.

'He might be the playmate I am looking for' Mabel thought. She then looked at Jonouchi. "In that case, I do not need you anymore. You can become one of my dolls." And before Jonouchi could say anything in reply, Mabel snapped her fingers.

In the meantime, Honda was running through the hallways and opening any unlocked doors. Once in a while, he would stop and shout Yugi and Anzu's names.

"Yugi! Anzu!" he shouted. 'Damn' he thought. 'How am I supposed to find Yugi and Anzu in this mansion? This is going to take me days, if not weeks to go through everything." He was so focused that he didn't realize that someone was running in the opposite direction.

The inevitable collision occurred.

Honda fell straight to the floor. After what seemed to be a long time had passed, he raised his head and rubbed it.

"Shit, what happened? I felt I collided with a train!" he spoke. He then looked at the person he collided with. "Bakura?" He got up. "It is Bakura! Are you okay?" At the mention of his name, the white-haired teen raised his head and rubbed it. Honda helped him get up.

"I am all right now, thanks," Bakura replied. He then looked at Honda. "Where is Yugi and the others?"

"They are somewhere inside this mansion" Honda answered. "How did you end up here?"

"The same way you end up here I guess" Bakura answered. Honda thought about it.

"Listen, Bakura, I know that you want to help us but this is dangerous. Jonouchi and I have found the source of the monsters. She calls herself Mabel. She turned Seto and Mokuba into dolls and can turn the monsters from cards into real monsters."

"Oh my," Bakura said, astonished. "I wonder how that is possible."

"I don't know but we need to find Yugi and Anzu right away! I got Jonouchi with Mabel but I want to get Yugi and Anzu with her as quickly as possible before she does something to Jonouchi," Honda said. Bakura then glanced over Honda's shoulder.

"I think it's too late for Jonouchi" Bakura said.

"How do you know?" Honda asked. He then looked behind. He saw Mabel standing there, holding a doll version of Jonouchi. "Jonouchi! What on earth did you do to him?" Honda demanded Mabel.

"I turned him into a doll" Mabel explained. She then saw Bakura. "Who are you?"

"You can call me Bakura" the white-haired teen replied.

"Ba-ku-ra? Ba-kur-a?" the girl tried to say his name. "You sure have a weird name." Bakura smiled slightly.

"I really need to find Yugi and Anzu now. Bakura, go with Mabel and do whatever you want with her. Try to keep her occupied until I can find Yugi and Anzu and get them where Mabel is" Honda said. He then turned to Mabel. "You do want to play with Bakura, do you?"

"Sure. I want to play with Yu-gi but I can play with him until you come back" Mabel answered. "And bring the girl too!"

"Yeah sure" Honda said, sounding uncomfortable. He then looked at the Jonouchi doll. He could not believe that his best friend was now a plaything. He whispered to Bakura.

"I want you to talk to the Mokuba look-alike. I want to know what we're dealing with when I find Yugi and Anzu and then find you guys," Honda said in his right ear. Bakura nodded.

"I do have a few questions myself," Bakura whispered back. "You should go down the hallway to the north. It might lead you to them". He pointed to the direction.

"I owe you a big favour, Bakura" Honda said. He then turned to Mabel. "I am going to get my friends now. Stay with Bakura, will you?"

"I will be at Mo-ku-ba's room with your friend here. When you get your friends, I'll come after you. My monsters will tell me where you are so I could come after you," Mabel told him. (Note: Line error.)

"Thanks I think," Honda said. He then looked at Bakura. "You're sure you're okay with this? You have seen what she did to Jonouchi."

"Oh I am sure it would not be a problem," Bakura said. "Now get Yugi and Anzu." He then turned around, his expression totally changed.

"Well see you later Bakura!" Honda said. "Do take care!" He then went down the hallway and out of sight.

"Let's go to Mo-ku-ba's room. I got to show you the rest of my dolls and then we can play" Mabel said. Bakura nodded and they walked off. Mabel didn't know what Bakura had in plan, but then again, Bakura didn't know what Mabel had in plan either.

End of Chapter Three

Just two more chapters before the epilogue. I am happy to see new people reading and reviewing my work. I just want to mention that I'll be only going to answer questions at the end of the story but do keep them coming. I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well. Yu-Gi-Oh was created by Kazuki Takahashi. Do not forget to review!


	4. The Ultimate Playmate?

**Chapter Four of "Imaginary Playmate"**

**By Melinda-chan**

"This is Mo-ku-ba's room," Mabel said to Bakura as she opened the room. "And this is Set-o and Mo-ku-ba." She pointed to the dolls on the floor. She picked them up and placed them sitting on the floor. "I made them into dolls." Bakura, or who she thought was Bakura, stepped forward and looked down at them.

"May I touch one of them?" he asked her.

"You can but don't take any of them from me," Mabel said. 'Bakura' chose to pick the Mokuba doll. He examined it.

"I do not see any seam or stitch," 'Bakura' said. "They are very well done." He then looked around the room. "Did you make them into dolls here?"

"I made Set-o into a doll in his room. I made Mo-ku-ba and Jo-no-u-chi into dolls here," Mabel explained.

'Hmm. I don't see any bodies around here' 'Bakura' thought. 'Perhaps she put them away.' He then saw her put the Jonouchi doll next to the Seto doll. Both the Jonouchi doll and the Seto doll fell away from each other. Mabel tried to put them together but they keep moving away. (Note: It should be apparent which Bakura it is now, hence the false quotation marks around Bakura's name).

"Hey! You're supposed to do as I say!" Mabel shouted to the dolls.

'Or maybe not,' 'Bakura' thought. "I don't think you are going to get them to cooperate. They were not friends in real life, you know" he spoke.

"I guess not," Mabel said. She put the Seto doll next to a tea cup and the Jonouchi doll next to another tea cup. "If they don't want to be together, I can't force them to." She looked at 'Bakura'. "I want Mo-ku-ba please." 'Bakura' handed her the Mokuba doll.

"You appear to made them into dolls, body and soul" 'Bakura' said. "Didn't you?"

"Yes" Mabel answered. "I made them into dolls with their bodies and souls. It is very easy to do, if you're me of course." 'Bakura' had to smile a little.

"And what exactly are you?" 'Bakura' asked her.

"I am a playmate!" Mabel responded. At first 'Bakura' looked stunned but he then lowered his eyes.

'She has such great power, yet her intellect is that of a child' 'Bakura' thought in disgust. 'Maybe that will be useful for me after all.' He then smiled back at her.

"Mabel, are you willing to do something for me?" 'Bakura' asked. Mabel looked suspiciously at him.

"Like what?" she did not sound happy. She did not like favours.

"Do you plan on making Yugi into a doll?" 'Bakura' asked.

"Maybe," Mabel answered.

"Then I want you to get the Millennium Puzzle for me. It is the pyramid-shaped golden pendant around his neck" 'Bakura' answered. "When you make Yugi into a doll, he would have no use for it."

"I didn't say I would turn him into a doll," Mabel said, sounding annoyed.

"What would you do if you are not making him into a doll?" 'Bakura' asked.

"He might be the ultimate playmate," Mabel answered. "I'll then play with him for ever and ever!" she proclaimed.

"I see" 'Bakura' said without emotion.

"Why do you want the Millennium Puzzle so bad?" Mabel asked.

"It is something that I just want" 'Bakura' simply said. "When you want something, do you try to get it?

"Well yeah" Mabel replied. "Do you collect other treasures too?"

"I got this!" 'Bakura' said. He unbuttoned his shirt, revealing the Millennium Ring. "This is the Millennium Ring. I am planning to gather all of the Millennium Items."

"It is pretty," Mabel said, seeing the golden pendant and diamond points. "I want it!"

"No" 'Bakura' said sternly, backing away from her. He was starting to regret his former action.

"But I want it!" Mabel yelled.

"And I said you can't have it!" 'Bakura' yelled back. She looked at him weirdly.

"You sure sound different now" Mabel said. "Are you sure you're Ba-kur-a?"

"You saw me with Honda, didn't you?" 'Bakura' said getting a little annoyed. He then shook his head. Would it really matter if he spoke the truth? It was not like she was a mortal.

"Actually I told you a half-truth. I am Bakura but I am not Bakura," he said. "I am like you but I need a body. So you can see why we should work together. I can get the Millennium Puzzle and increase my power, and you can get as many dolls as you want, including Yugi!" 'Bakura' hoped that he could appeal to Mabel's greed and succumb to his wishes. Mabel cocked her head in thought. Suddenly her face brightened.

"You are a playmate too!" she said very happy. 'Bakura' was taken aback.

"A playmate?" he managed to say. 'Does she really think that spirits only exists to play with mortals?' he thought. A bead of sweat came down his forehead.

"Yeah that's right," Mabel said. "You're like me but you need a body because you're not that powerful enough. Once you're like me you can go anywhere in this world and be anybody's playmate. It would be so much fun to have someone else like me around!"

'Bakura' put his hand on his face to cover his annoyance.

"Alright" he said after he partially uncovered his face. "You have an ability to be independent of your host, something that I cannot do for long. I'll give you that much. But I am not anybody's playmate. I have far greater ambitions than that. I am very sure you have an ultimate goal in your own life."

"Sure I do" Mabel said, though she sounded a little irritated. "I want to find the ultimate playmate."

'This is incredible! She has the power to turn people into dolls, unleash monsters from cards and be independent of her host- all of this outside the Shadow Realm and all she wants is to find a playmate! She has the intelligence of a four-year old kid!' he thought. 'She truly thinks she is just a playmate for kids! Unbelievable!'

"I get to play with lots of children, with their toys and games. I also get to deal with mean brothers and teachers and sometimes mean sisters and parents as well," Mabel said. "Most of the times it is fun but I do not stay with them too long. Either they get tired of me or they do something that makes me go. But I'll find the ultimate playmate and we'll play forever and ever and ever or until I get tired of her."

'Bakura' knew then that it was a mistake to make his host agree to Honda's plan. He was hoping that Mabel would be an excellent accomplice but it seems that all she cared about was playing with humans. It would have been better if he could convince Honda that he could find Yugi and Anzu- and he could as long as Yugi still had the Millennium Puzzle- and let things take over from there. But Mabel was not someone he could trust. He had to do this on his own.

"Where are you going?" Mabel asked as she saw him walking toward the door. "We are supposed to stay here until Yu-gi comes!"

"I can find him on my own," 'Bakura' said gruffly. He was going to grab the doorknob when he realized he could not move the right leg of his host. He looked down to find Mabel holding onto the leg. "What do you think you're doing?"

"You made a promise to Honda you'll stay with me," Mabel said. 'Bakura' smirked.

"Technically I did not promise Honda anything," 'Bakura' said. "That was my host." At that Mabel looked annoyed.

"You sure are rude," she said. "You and the real Ba-kur-a are partners. You have to go along with what he does."

"I don't recall signing a contract saying that" 'Bakura' retorted. "Now it is in my best interest to make sure nothing bad happens to this body and I do pay my 'rent' so to speak but my ungrateful host had betrayed me before and I seek greater power."

Mabel was about to open her mouth when she realized what he really said to her. "You don't want to be a partner or a playmate! You're a parasite!"

"I prefer to think myself as someone that has to steal bodies to achieve my goals," 'Bakura' said. Mabel now looked absolutely horrified.

"You're a meanie!" she told him. She held onto him tighter.

"Let me go!" 'Bakura' growled. "Or I'll-"

"You'll what?" Mabel said in a challenging manner. "Unlike you, I don't need a body to function in this world. All I need is a form." 'Bakura' did not reply but his face darkened. "I was going to do this anyway." She then pressed onto her fingers. "I am going to make BOTH of you into dolls!" And before 'Bakura' could respond, Mabel snapped her fingers twice. In a second, there were two Bakura dolls. The Millennium Ring fell on the floor.

"Yay! The necklace is mine!" Mabel picked up the Millennium Ring and put it around her neck. Of course because of her height the necklace reached her knees. "It is so pretty!" She then looked at her new dolls.

"Now which one is the meanie Ba-kur-a?" Mabel asked herself. She picked up both of them. She looked at the one in her left hand. "This one looks nice and his hair isn't very fluffy." She then looked at the one in her right hand. "This one doesn't look nice and his hair is very fluffy." She put them in her arms. "I wonder how the others are doing." She pulled out a card. "Man-Eater Bug appear!" The monster did so.

"Man-Eater Bug take me to Yu-gi! I want to see if he is the ultimate playmate," Mabel said. Still carrying the Bakura dolls, she opened the door and followed the Man-Easter Bug to her new destination.

In another part of the mansion, Yugi and Anzu burst into the kitchen, closed the door and moved a small table to prevent the door from being opened. Yugi let out a sigh of relief. Anzu put her hands on her knees. They both let out heavy breaths.

"I hope that- puff- would work" Yugi said. He wiped his brow.

"I can't believe we could move the table," Anzu noted.

"Well it's either that or becoming char-broiled" Yugi told her.

"More like ash," Anzu replied. "Or not even that."

"So what do we do now?" Yugi asked. Anzu looked around.

"It looks like we're in the kitchen," Anzu said. "It's quite big."

"This is a mansion," Yugi said. "I bet this not only feed Seto and Mokuba but everybody else that works here." Anzu went to the stove. She then put her right hand over a burner.

"Yugi, this burner is still warm," Anzu said. "And there are bowls and cups in the sink." She went to the sink and picked up a bowl and a cup. "The bowls looked like they had ice cream in them and the cups looked like they had green tea in them."

"Oh?" Yugi said. He went to the sink. He managed to put his head over the sink (it was a tall sink) and saw that there was indeed a small pile of bowls and cups in the sink.

"Anzu, how long do you suppose they have been in there?" he asked her.

"I don't know but the stove hasn't been used for long. It is still warm," Anzu said. "I am scared, Yugi.

"Huh?" Yugi asked almost absent-mindedly.

"Seto and Mokuba has been absent for two days so why is the stove warm? And why is the sink filled with bowls and cups that had brown ice cream and green tea in them?" Anzu asked as she looked at him expectantly. Yugi noticed this.

'She wants me to protect her?" Yugi asked. He felt overjoyed. He then spoke out loud.

"Well, I am not exactly sure but I think it's the person that is responsible for the disappearance of Seto and Mokuba" Yugi said. "I mean, whoever is responsible for their disappearance. I am sure I can protect you in any case-"

"Who said you'll protect me? Your other self can do that!" Anzu exclaimed. Yugi felt a bit annoyed.

"I know I am not as powerful as my other self, but I can still-" Yugi started to say when all of a sudden a knock was hard on the door.

"What is that?" Anzu asked, looking straight at the door. The door then tried to open but because of the table, it could not move much.

'A monster that knocks on the door?' Yugi thought. Anzu took a rolling pin out of a drawer. She then handed him a large kitchen towel.

"When you move the table away, the door would probably open. I'll hit it with the rolling pin and you'll throw the towel at it" Anzu told him.

"I don't see how we can defeat a monster that way-" Yugi started to protest.

"We will just distract it" Anzu said. "Once you throw the towel, run." Yugi nodded nervously. He went to the table. "Push the table slowly. I want to position myself." She was at the right side of the table.

'Here it goes' Yugi thought as he pushed the table. It was a lot heavier than it was a few minutes ago- probably because his adrenaline wasn't as high and also Anzu wasn't helping him this time- but he managed to slide it away slowly. Just then the door opened-

"Got him!" Anzu yelled as she swung the rolling pin at the figure at the other side of the door. To her horror, she realized that it was not a monster but Honda, who now had his eyes wide open. Anzu pulled the rolling pin off his stomach, where she planted a heavy blow, allowing him to go to his knees.

"Ohhhhh….." he moaned as in great pain. He then went down on the floor, face-first. True to the plan, Yugi threw the kitchen towel at Honda's head as he did so. Honda did not move for a while.

"Are you okay, Honda? Did Anzu hurt you that much?" Yugi inquired as he went on his knees to remove the cloth and help Honda on his feet. Anzu assisted him.

"Yeah, like a good blow to the stomach is okay," Honda said still in pain. Anzu's cheeks reddened.

"I am sorry for that" Anzu apologized. When Honda was up, he wiped the front of his school uniform.

"We thought you were a monster!" Yugi tried to explain. Honda looked at him.

"Do I look like a monster to you?" Honda asked, looking straight at his petit friend. Yugi looked embarrassed. Anzu decided to change the subject.

"Honda, where is Jonouchi? He did escape too right?" Anzu asked.

At first Honda did not reply. He turned away from his friends, his head bending down. His fists shook. Tears dropped from his eyes onto the floor until they formed a small puddle. Yugi and Anzu went closer to him with obvious concern on their faces.

"Well?" Yugi asked, his tone echoing the expression on his face.

"She-she took him!" Honda sobbed. "She took my best friend!"

"Who is she and can you tell us what happened?" Anzu inquired. Honda tried to wipe the tears from his face. He then faced them.

"We were being chased by the bug monster when we had to stop. We thought we were done for. The monster then vanished without a trace. She then appeared. At first we thought it was Mokuba" Honda explained.

"You mean she looked like Mokuba?" Yugi asked him.

"Yeah. A smaller size but she definitely looks like him," Honda said. "She fooled us into thinking she was him. So she took us to the room where she said Seto was. She was right. But Mokuba was there as well."

"What did she do to them?" Anzu asked.

"She made them into dolls," Honda replied. This shocked Yugi and Anzu.

"Dolls? You mean-" Yugi started to say.

"You know, the stuffed dolls that you would see in a kids' room" Honda told them. "I am not talking about Barbie dolls. In any case, once we realized what happened, we wanted to get the hell out of there."

"So how come Jonouchi-" Yugi started to say but Honda once again interrupted him.

"One of us had to stay behind. She found out that you and Anzu were here as well. So Jonouchi offered to keep her company while I searched for you two" Honda said. "Now this is the interesting part. I was trying to find you guys when I ran into Bakura."

"Bakura is here?" Anzu asked.

"He apparently followed us here" Honda told her. "I told him what happened. She then showed up, holding Jonouchi in her arms. She had turned him into a doll. My best friend is now a doll!" He cried again.

"We will stop her. Tell us where is Bakura?" Yugi asked him.

"He went with her until I could find you two" Honda said. "That is why I want to find you both as fast as possible! I don't know what may happen between her and Bakura."

'I hope Bakura is okay,' Yugi thought. He then saw something behind him. "Watch out, Honda!" The taller teen looked behind.

"It's the Man-Eater Bug!" Honda shouted.

"I thought you said the monster disappeared!" Anzu yelled. The rolling pin trembled in her hand.

"I did! Mabel must be behind this! Where are you, Mabel?" Honda demanded at the monster.

"You don't need to shout!" a girl's voice exclaimed. "Man-Eater Bug, return!" The Man-Eater Bug then disappeared. Yugi and Anzu saw for the first time the source of the voice.

"It's a mini-Mokuba!" Anzu exclaimed.

"I am Mabel," the "girl" said. She then looked up at her. "You're the girl. Where is Yu-gi?"

"This is Yugi" Anzu replied, looking at him. Mabel looked at him too.

"Are you Yu-gi?" Mabel asked him.

"Yes" he replied, not knowing what she'll do next.

"Wow! I didn't know a high-school student could be so short!" Mabel exclaimed in wonder. Yugi decided to ignore this.

"What did you do to Jonouchi? Honda said you turned him into a doll" Yugi asked her.

"I did" Mabel said. She then looked down into her arms. "And I turned both of the Ba-kur-as into dolls too!" Everybody widened their eyes in horror as they saw the white and blue dolls.

"Two Bakuras!" Honda exclaimed.

'But I thought the other Bakura was gone!' Yugi thought. 'Even so, how did she made him into a doll as well?'

'Be careful, Aibou' he then heard his other self say in his mind. 'I sense a great dark power in this being. I do not know whether this being realizes it or not but do be careful.'

'My other self, what should I do?' Yugi thought.

'Do whatever she says' his other self told him. 'If anything happens, I can take care of it.'

'But look what she did to Bakura's other half' Yugi thought.

'Yes, but I am in a better position to do something than you would be' his other half replied back in his mind. 'You must trust me, Aibou.'

'All right,' Yugi thought. He then looked at Mabel. "Tell me, why are you doing this, and what do you want from us?" he demanded out loud.

"I made one of the Ba-kur-as into a doll because he was being a big meanie to me and his playmate," Mabel said. She looked at her dolls. "I think this is the one!" She showed them the doll in her right hand.

"But why did you turn the innocent one into a doll too?" Honda asked.

"Why not?" Mabel said. "I am trying to find the ultimate playmate so I want to get as many dolls and toys as possible so we can play forever and ever and ever!" All of the humans then sweatdropped.

"Wait a minute! You're looking for a playmate? What are you?" Anzu asked.

"Most of the kids call me an imaginary playmate but I am real like you," Mabel explained.

"Wait a minute! I had an imaginary playmate when I was little and I never saw you!" Honda said.

"I didn't say I was one," Mabel told him. "You probably got a real one."

"How can I get a real imaginary one?" Honda asked. Yugi decided to change the subject.

"What do you plan on doing with the rest of us?" Yugi demanded.

"You don't have to take that tone with me," Mabel said. "At first when I saw you guys coming, I only wanted to play with the girl." Anzu looked surprised. "But then Jo-no-u-chi told me that Yu-gi is the best game player in the world. And then the mean Ba-kur-a told me about your Millennium Puzzle." Yugi went aback when he heard those words.

"My Millennium Puzzle? Why do you want it?" Yugi questioned.

"Because it's pretty," Mabel responded, looking at it. "And I love jewelry."

"Wait a minute!" Honda yelled. "Just because you want it, it does not mean you can have it!"

"Well I am going to have it anyway because I decided that Yu-gi is the ultimate playmate!" Mabel declared. "If he is the best game player in the world and the Millennium Puzzle is a very powerful object, then he must know how to make fun toys and games! We can play forever and ever and ever!"

"What about me and Anzu?" Honda asked. Mabel looked at him.

"I don't need you anymore," Mabel said. "I know what you can be!" SNAP! As soon as Mabel snapped her fingers, Honda turned into a doll with a green tunic and tights and a hat with a feather sticking out of it. On his right hip was a quiver filled with arrows.

"Honda!" Yugi shouted, looking down at the Honda doll. "What did he turn into?"

"Honda is now Robin Hood" Mabel answered. She then looked at Anzu. Anzu looked frightened. Yugi went in front of her and spread his arms.

"I don't know what you are going to her but spare her!" Yugi pleaded. "Take me instead!"

"What are you doing, Yugi?" Anzu asked, looking down at him. "If I want protection, I would want your other self to do that!"

"Hey!" Yugi exclaimed not sounding pleased.

"Yugi has an other self?" Mabel asked. "Is he a parasite?"

"Yugi's other self is not bad" Anzu replied. "He is brave, charming and a great game player."

"Is he better than Yugi at games?" Mabel asked. Anzu and Yugi looked at each other.

"Oh yes," Anzu said nodding. Yugi nodded as well. "He is like a partner to Yugi. And he is so charming." Yugi's cheeks turned red.

"He's in my body!" Yugi tried to counter.

'I got to see him!' Mabel thought. She then spoke out loud. "Can you separate yourselves from each other?" she asked Yugi.

'Tell her yes' Yugi heard his other self say in his mind. 'I believe she will make you into a doll but I promise I'll save you all.'

'I really got no choice,' Yugi thought. He then nodded. 'Other me, I agree. I don't know what Mabel might do but I believe in you.'

'I will do my best' Yugi's other self said in a solemn tone. Yugi opened his eyes to look at Mabel.

"I have talked with my partner. He accepts" Yugi said. Mabel looked overjoyed.

"I am so happy!" Mabel exclaimed. She then looked at Anzu for a period of time. "I know what to turn you into!" She snapped her fingers. Anzu turned into a doll with a deep red 19th century American gown on. She had a deep red fan made with the same material in her right hand. "Now An-zu is Scarlett O'Hara." Yugi was shocked. (Note: Scarlett O'Hara, of course, is the heroine of the "Gone With The Wind" novel and movie).

"Anzu!" Yugi yelled. Anzu of course couldn't respond. He looked back at Mabel. "Why you-!"

"Let me think what I should turn you into" Mabel said. She looked at him for a period of time. "I know what I can turn you into. Tell your partner to separate himself from you!"

'Here it goes' Yugi thought. "Are you ready, my other self?'

'Yes Aibou' his other self thought back.

'All right,' Yugi thought. 'I hope she turns me into something I like.' He then spoke out loud. "We are going to separate now!"

"Then do it!" Mabel ordered. All of a sudden Mabel saw two forms of Yugi, one of them however was in a ghost form.

'That must be the other Yugi coming out!' Mabel thought. 'I can use my powers on the one in the body!' She then snapped her fingers. A ball of light came out of Yugi's body and changed into a wooden doll with a long nose. He was dressed in traditional boys' clothes and white gloves.

"Now you're Pinocchio!" Mabel said. She heard a few footsteps and looked at the source of them. "You went back to his body, I see."

"Yes" Yugi-or rather Dark Yugi-said.

"Your voice is deeper than your partner" Mabel observed. "You must be like the mean Ba-kur-a. You do not have a body of your own."

"And you do not?" Dark Yugi asked her.

"I am not like you" Mabel responded. She then picked up all of the dolls. "I got more dolls in Mo-ku-ba's room. We'll go there and play. But first-" she snapped her fingers. A red toy chest appeared.

"I'll put Honda, An-zu and the other Yu-gi in the chest" Mabel said. Dark Yugi watched her do so. "I got to prepare the two Ba-kur-as and your other friends. We are going to have so much fun!" She then noticed that there was no reply. "Are you at least going to follow me?"

"I have no choice now, do I?" Dark Yugi asked.

"Don't take that tone with me! I only asked you a question!" Mabel told him apparently annoyed. She then snapped her fingers. The toy chest disappeared. "Let's go now. I can't wait to play with you!"

"So do I" Dark Yugi said. He then walked after the Mokuba look-alike. 'No matter what game we play, I'll beat you. I'll release my friends from your control and send you back to where you came from. I swear on Aibou's name I'll do it.' Of course Dark Yugi had no idea what she will do or who would really be the hero.

End of Chapter Four

I am really looking forward to writing the next chapter. It would be fun to read too. I'll leave my readers to figure out what I am planning. The next chapter will have the final climax. The next chapter after that will be the epilogue, with author notes, answers to questions, credits and my original recommendations of similar fics. If you have any questions and comments please do it before the final chapter. Yu-Gi-Oh was created by Kazuki Takahashi. Please do not forget to review!


	5. The Showdown

**Chapter Five of "Imaginary Playmate" by Melinda-chan**

"This is where I keep all the others," Mabel said as she opened the door. Dark Yugi stepped in behind her. His eyes went wide as he saw the dolls that were on the floor. Seto, Mokuba and Jonouchi laid next to tea cups that had green tea in them. That explained the bowls and cups that Yugi and Anzu found in the kitchen. But that was not what upset Dark Yugi the most.

'Jonouchi,' he thought. 'I cannot believe that Mabel did this to you!' He then looked at Mabel. "Mabel!" he said out loud.

"I'll have to prepare the rest of the dolls now," Mabel said. She then snapped her fingers five times. Dark Yugi saw that the Ryo Bakura, Dark Bakura, Jonouchi, Mokuba and Seto dolls were now in different clothes. Dark Yugi arched his right eyebrow.

"Do you like them now?" Mabel asked, putting all the dolls on the bed.

"They look like storybook characters," Dark Yugi noted. "Who are they now?"

"The good and mean Ba-kur-as are Tweedledee and Tweedledum from 'Alice of Wonderland'-" Mabel pointed to a pair of white-haired dolls with suspenders and a round cap on their heads. Ryo Bakura had "TE" on his collar while Dark Bakura had a "TM" on his collar. "Jo-no-u-chi is 'Spot' from the children's books-" Mabel pointed to a black and white doglike doll. "You know, 'See Spot Run'?"

'Jonouchi! What did she do to you?" Dark Yugi asked himself.

"And Set-o is Ebenezer Scrooge and Mo-ku-ba is Bob Cratchit from 'The Christmas Carol.' Set-o is Scrooge because he is rich but very mean and Mo-ku-ba is Bob Cratchit because Scrooge and Bob Cratchit were supposed to be boss and worker but Scrooge mistreated him and wasn't a good boss, just like Set-o wasn't a good big brother."

'What is she going to do with them?' Dark Yugi asked himself.

"I should take out the rest of the dolls now," Mabel said. She snapped her fingers. The red toy chest appeared. "Give me Honda, An-zu and Yu-gi please." At once a pair of white gloves brought out the Honda, Anzu and Yugi dolls, respectively as Robin Hood, Scarlett O'Hara and Pinocchio.

'What is she planning to do?' Dark Yugi thought. He then looked straight at Mabel.

"Are we going to play a game?" he asked her.

"I just need a few more things," Mabel said. "Now give me a moment to prepare the tea set and table."

'What?' Dark Yugi thought as he realized it. 'Mabel and I are going to play-'

"We are going to play tea!" Mabel exclaimed with a happy expression on her face. "But first we need a change of atmosphere."

All of a sudden the walls of Mokuba's room started to shimmer. It changed from white walls to a pink wallpaper-covered wall with daisies on them. Mokuba's bed changed from a standard boys' bed to a pink silk bed. A white table appeared with a china tea set. Two white chairs appeared on each side of the table.

'What is going on? Are we in the Shadow Realm or another dimension?' Dark Yugi thought. He then heard a voice from below.

"My other self!" Pinocchio Yugi shouted. Dark Yugi looked down.

'Aibou! And all the rest of you!' Dark Yugi thought. Indeed, everyone that had been turned into dolls is now moving on their own. Honda, Anzu and Jonouchi were looking around, Mokuba was standing close to Seto, Seto had his arms crossed with a cane in his right hand, Ryo Bakura looked completely clueless and Dark Bakura also had his arms folded with an equally crossed expression on his face.

"My other self!" Pinocchio Yugi shouted again. "What is going on? Where are we?"

"I know we are in a different place but I am not sure if we are in the Shadow Realm or not" Dark Yugi told him, looking at Mabel with his left eye.

"You are in the dark realm, but I made it pretty so I can have a friendly atmosphere to play dolls and tea with you" Mabel replied.

"Wait a minute!" Jonouchi yelled. He looked like he was in a dog costume. "You want to play dolls and tea with us?"

"Yes" Mabel answered.

"I am out of here," Jonouchi said, turning away. "I can play that with my younger sister but when it comes to someone that turned me into a dog, I have my limits."

"If you have a younger sister, then you must know how to play tea time" Mabel said. "I know! I will make you my first doll!" She then grabbed him with her right hand.

"Hey!" Jonouchi yelled as Mabel grabbed him and put him on the toy chair. She then looked at Dark Yugi.

"Now pick a doll," Mabel ordered him. "We can start the game once you selected a doll." Dark Yugi looked at the rest of the dolls. Both Seto and Dark Bakura were giving him dark looks so they were out of the question.

'I would take Aibou but I do not know what Mabel might do to him' Dark Yugi thought. 'Still all my friends are in danger by being here. At least with Yugi as my doll, I will have a great motivator.'

"Very well, I choose Yugi to play for me!" Dark Yugi said. He then picked up Pinocchio Yugi and put him on the chair.

It was then that Mokuba finally saw the smaller Yugi.

"Big brother, why are there two Yugis?" Mokuba asked him.

Now almost everybody became worried.

"And how come there are two Bakuras?" Mokuba further questioned.

An awkward silence ensued.

"I think this is a dream," Seto said out loud. "Or a great magic trick." He adjusted his monocle. "That is the only thing I can think of without thinking anything worse."

"I can," Dark Bakura said. Mabel gave him a dirty look.

"I did not tell you to say anything," Mabel told them. "You be quiet or else-"

"Else what?" Dark Bakura then sneered. "Destroy me? I'll return. I always do." Mabel, though, did not look convinced.

"Maybe I cannot destroy you, but I can do this-" Mabel then snapped her fingers. A black toy chest appeared. "-I can put you in my garbage toy chest and dispose of you forever so don't say anything else!" The black toy chest was surrounded by an evil aura.

"Um, not to question you or anything, but what would happen to me if he goes into the toy chest?" Ryo Bakura asked Mabel, raising his right hand.

"I don't know" Mabel answered. "I have never put a playmate before that was part of a person."

"Technically we are not together-" Ryo Bakura started to say.

"I can put you in with him if you want" Mabel said. Honda stepped forward.

"Hey! Don't threaten any of my friends! I mean, the real Bakura" Honda said.

"Do you want to join them too?" Mabel asked him.

"If I had a bow, I would have-" Honda started to say.

"Have what?" Mabel dared him. She then looked at Jonouchi. The dog sweatdropped.

"Jo-no-u-chi…" Mabel continued. "Bite him!" At once Jonouchi went off his chair and bit Honda's left leg. Everyone became shocked.

"Um, Jonouchi, you do remember who you are, right?" Honda asked him, looking down at his best friend.

"Of course he does" Mabel said. She then crossed his arms. "He is a doll, my doll. As is all of you, except for the big Yugi of course." All the eyes of the dolls went wide, including Dark Bakura and Seto.

"That means she can control us!" Anzu exclaimed.

'This is my fault,' Mokuba thought. 'I trusted in her. What can I do now?'

"Now, Jonouchi, let go of him!" Mabel ordered. The blond-haired dog let go of Honda's leg. He now looked confused.

"What just happened?" Jonouchi asked.

"You bit me," Honda said. Jonouchi sweatdropped.

"Eh sorry about that" Jonouchi told him. He stood up and pointed at Mabel. "I ain't going to be your puppet anymore! Do you hear that?"

"Jonouchi, be careful!" Anzu said. "You might go into the black toy chest!" Mabel looked at her.

"I think I'll pick you next," Mabel said. "You're not rude, and I want to play with you anyway, since you're the only girl." She then picked Anzu up.

"Anzu!" Dark Yugi yelled in horror. "Let her go!"

"I am not hurting her," Mabel said. She then put Anzu down onto the chair gently. "Okay! I am getting impatient! I am going to start now!" She then brought out a tea kettle and poured a cup of tea. "First, me, and then Anzu." She then poured the tea into a teeny cup. Anzu looked down at it. "Now it is your turn." She put down the tea kettle on Dark Yugi's side of the table. Dark Yugi picked it up.

"Am I supposed to drink this?" Yugi asked as his puppet head looked down at it.

"I think so, Aibou" Dark Yugi said. "But I am not going to force you to."

"Are you going to play with me or not?" Mabel said. "If you do not want to, I can make you into a doll like Ba-kur-a's own playmate." Dark Yugi stared at the tea cup. He picked it up and sipped it. He looked surprised.

"You know, this is very good," Dark Yugi said. "I wonder what type of tea is this?"

"It's matcha," Mabel answered. "It is a very fine tea that is used in tea ceremonies. I knew you'll like it!" Dark Yugi nodded as he took another sip.

"I can't believe I finally found the perfect playmate!" Mabel continued. She then poured herself a new cup of tea. "I don't know how long I have been searching! I am so excited!"

'How am I suppose to defeat her?' Dark Yugi thought as he put the cup to his mouth. 'I cannot think of a way to do so!' Just then he saw Honda, Jonouchi, Dark Bakura and Ryo Bakura talking to another in a group formation.

"You know something about the Shadow Realm, right?" Honda asked Bakura's dark half. "You know how to get us out of here?"

"Do you think if I knew how to get out on my own, I would have done it by now?" Dark Bakura said. "I hate to say this but the only way we can get out of here is if that brat-" he pointed at Mabel. "- let's us go or he-" he then turned to Dark Yugi. "- managed to convince her to do it and right now, it does not look like that is going to happen." Mabel turned to him.

"You got a big mouth, you know that?" Mabel said to him. "Maybe I should put you and your partner into the black toy chest, after all!"

"No wait!" Mokuba yelled. Mabel looked at him. "Please don't put anyone into the black toy chest! For me!" Mokuba cupped his hands together. Mabel nodded.

"Okay," Mabel said. She then turned back to Anzu. "Do you want more tea?"

'Amazing' Dark Yugi thought. 'Mabel still listens to Mokuba.' He then looked at all the other dolls. An idea came to him.

"Tell me, Mabel, is there a specific reason why you dressed them like that?" Dark Yugi asked her.

"Sure" Mabel replied. She looked down at Anzu. "An-zu is Scarlett O'Hara because she is pretty like her." At that Anzu's cheeks went red. "Yu-gi is Pinocchio because I like the character and they are almost the same height." Yugi did a little blush himself. "As for Jo-no-u-chi and Honda, I just like Spot and Robin Hood. As for the good and mean Ba-kur-as, I had to think of two characters that almost look alike and all I can think were Tweedledee and Tweedledum, from Alice of Wonderland." Dark Bakura put a hand over his head, obviously embarassed. She then looked at the two brothers. "As for Set-o and Mo-ku-ba, I made Set-o Scrooge because he is so mean and I made Mo-ku-ba into Tom Cratchit because Set-o treated Mo-ku-ba like Scrooge did to Tom Cratchit even though Mo-ku-ba is his younger brother" Mabel told him.

"That's not true!" Mokuba yelled.

"Yes it is" Seto's voice made Mokuba look at him. So did everyone else. "I have been a very big brother. I have neglected you even when you wanted me. I should be in that black box."

"You really want to do that?" Mabel asked him.

"No! Please don't do anything to my big brother! Please!" Mokuba pleaded, holding his hands together.

"Okay," Mabel answered.

'She listened to Mokuba again!' Dark Yugi thought. 'Wait a minute! I got an idea!'

"Excuse me," Dark Yugi said. "But I got a question for both of you. Whose idea was this in the first place?"

"It was my idea" Mabel answered. "Why do you ask?"

"So is Mokuba still your playmate?" Dark Yugi asked her.

"Oh yes," Mabel answered.

"If Mokuba is still your playmate, do you think he's having fun now?" Dark Yugi then asked her.

"I don't know" Mabel answered. "I'll ask him." She then turned to Mokuba. "Are you having fun now, Mo-ku-ba?" The miniature Mokuba crossed his arms.

"I am certainly NOT having fun!" Mokuba replied. "First, you turned my big brother into a doll, and then you turned me into a doll too! And now all my other friends are dolls as well! I am definitely not having fun! I want to go home! I do not want you to be my playmate anymore!"

At that Mabel became shocked. No one said a word.

'He did it' Jonouchi thought. 'We are all doomed now.'

"Could you repeat that?" Mabel asked.

"I no longer want you as my playmate anymore!" Mokuba yelled.

"Does that mean you made up with your brother?" Mabel inquired. Mokuba and Seto looked at each other. Mokuba then looked back at her.

"Yes" Mokuba replied. Mabel then looked at Dark Yugi.

"Do you want me as a playmate?" Mabel asked him.

"I already got friends," Dark Yugi said. "Who are all here, more or less." Mabel looked at the other dolls.

"Do you want me to be your playmate?" Mabel asked them. A few no's and a few head shakes answered her question. At that, Mabel put her head down in sadness.

"Ever since I can remember, I always wanted a playmate," Mabel said. "I want to play with her forever and ever and ever!" At that Mokuba stepped forward.

"I know you mean well but you need to learn that having a playmate means giving as well as receiving. You just need to be more patient and forgiving with them too," Mokuba told her.

"But I don't know how to do that" Mabel said.

"You have all the time in the world!" Mokuba said. "You can listen to them as long as you want. And respect their opinions even if you disagree with them."

"Do you still do not want me as your playmate?" Mabel asked.

"I know my big brother can be a pain, but I still love him and I'll never leave him on my own." Seto looked like he was overcome with emotion.

"Mokuba…" Seto said as he took the monocle off his right eye. "I know that sometimes I am overwhelmed with work, but that does not mean I no longer care for you. I would not have challenged Pegasus if I did not care for you. When my project is done, I will spend time with you. How's that?" Mokuba smiled and nodded. Mabel saw that and sighed.

"Well, if all of you don't need me anymore, I am going to leave" Mabel said. She then put down her tea cup, pull back her chair and got up. "You can all go home now." Everyone but Dark Yugi looked surprised.

'That's right Mabel,' Dark Yugi thought. 'We all have friends and people that we care about. We do not need you. But someone out there might want you. You just have to find that person if you can."

"All right then," Mabel said. The pink room then changed into a black abyss. "I am going to go now." A white portal then appeared.

'In that case, I should do this now' Dark Bakura thought. The Millennium Ring started glowing. 'This has been the most embarrassing moment of my existence! I shall erase their minds so they shall never remember this!' And so that's what he did.

End of Chapter Five

Wheee! I am so happy! I am almost done with this story! Yes, the next chapter will be the LAST chapter! I am so excited!

I plan on doing an epilogue, then my author's notes, recommended fics, reviewers' responses and a final thank you.

In order to celebrate my last chapter of "Imaginary Playmate," I am inviting all my readers to a party! You can bring anything you want but please especially bring any recommended fics or other fan stuff. (Yu-Gi-Oh preferable, but not required. Just no NC-17 stuff, please). I also have a guest-of-honour, Mabel! You can ask her any questions you want, as well to me. I'll also respond to any questions and comments already made that I feel need a response. Remember that you can be late, but please do come.

I hope you enjoy this chapter. It is my desire to make the next chapter memorable. Yu-Gi-Oh was created by Kazuki Takahashi. Please do not forget to review!


	6. Epilogue

**Chapter Six of "Imaginary Playmate" by Melinda-chan**

I am not going to waste much time here. Onward with the final chapter!

"Man, what a bastard," Jonouchi said. "We just wanted to visit him." He and his friends were outside the mansion, looking at the gate.

"Now that I think about it, why did we went here?" Anzu asked.

"That's a good question," Honda said. "I don't remember a thing."

"I think we went here to see what happened to Seto and Mokuba," Yugi replied. "At least what's what I believe."

"They look fine to me," Jonouchi said, still looking at the gate with a murderous stare.

"Well I should be going now," Bakura said. "See you tomorrow." At that, he quickly left.

"He sure was in a hurry," Anzu noted.

"I think we should do the same," Jonouchi said. "There is no point staying here any longer. Seto'll probably get us arrested for loitering or something." Yugi nodded.

"I don't remember anything at all," Yugi said. "But we turned out alright."

"Something always bad happens when we go there," Jonouchi said. "Let's just forget it." They started walking.

"So what do we do now?" Anzu asked them.

"I don't know" Yugi replied. "But I do feel thirsty."

Mokuba knocked on the door.

"Come in," he heard his big brother say. Mokuba opened the door and saw him pounding furiously on the keyboard.

"I received an e-mail," Seto said. "I am two days overdue. I have not gotten a word from my board of directors yet but I know that I have to really rush it now." He then sighed. "Even if I forgo eating and sleeping, I doubt that I would be able to finish in time."

"Why don't you just extend the deadline?" Mokuba suggested.

"I need the approval of everyone involved" Seto replied. "But since I don't remember what happened in the past two days, I can tell them that I have been very sick the past two days and couldn't get out of bed."

"You better take it easy or you will get sick" Mokuba told him.

"Mokuba, do you remember your last memory before now?" Seto asked him.

"I remember you telling me to go find something to do" Mokuba replied, trying not to sound angry.

"Just what I thought. I want to apologize for that," Seto said. Mokuba looked surprised. "I told you that you can always depend on me, and I failed. I want to make up for that. Plus I do need a break after this."

"So what are you planning to do?" Mokuba asked him.

"I can't do anything right now, but where would you want to go for the next long school vacation?" Seto asked.

"You mean it?" Mokuba asked him, delighted.

"Yes" Seto replied. He clicked a few times at the mouse and typed on the keyboard. "It has been such a long, long time since we went anywhere that was not business-related. So where would you like to go?"

"Disneyland!" Mokuba replied right away.

"Which one?" Seto questioned.

"Um, the one in Florida?" Mokuba suggested.

"Orlando, then," Seto said. He typed on the keyboard, and then clicked a few times on the mouse. "Done. I have to get back to the project. Call the manager and tell him or his secretary or anyone else that picks up the phone about me being sick. And if he asked why he not been called sooner, tell him that you have been sick too and you couldn't get out of bed. Since we don't remember about the past two days, no one can accuse us of lying. I'll give you the phone number to his office. If you get the answering machine, hang up. I want you to talk to a person."

"Okay," Mokuba said. He accepted the piece of paper that Seto gave him. Mokuba turned to the door but stopped. "Can I go on the tea cup ride?"

"No! You're too young Mokuba!" Seto replied.

"Awww…" Mokuba said before he left. Seto resumed typing.

"That was a good playmate," Mabel said. She was reading her journal. "Mo-ku-ba and his friends were good playmates, well except for the mean Ba-kur-a. I didn't know that other people had playmates too!" She then shut the journal. "I am getting bored. I wonder if I'll ever see Mo-ku-ba again. I do hope that he and his big brother are doing alright."

Just then a bright light appeared.

"Alright! I got another playmate! I hope it's another good one!" Mabel said. "I just hope it's a girl this time!" At that Mabel went into the light. Another adventure had begun for her.

The End (how I longed to write that word!)

Welcome to the party!

I had invited all my readers to a party celebrating my last chapter. I hope everyone will have a good time! And yes, I did invite Mabel, like I said I would.

Mabel: Is there any ice cream or tea?

Melinda-chan: Of course! displays an ice cream cart and tea stand

Mabel: Yay! goes to both of them and help herself

Well now that she is occupied, let me introduce myself:

Name: Melinda-chan (you'll know my real name if I sent you an e-mail; the sender's name is my actual name).

Location: Nova Scotia, Canada (I have lived in Toronto for almost ten years too).

Birthdate: April 1980 (I'll be a quarter of a century soon!)

Occupation: Distance-education student in Library Clerk with the Granton Institute of Technology based from Toronto, also an on-and-off volunteer as a cataloguer with a small non-profit organization.

Relevant Hobbies and Interests: Reading, writing, watching TV (not a lot mind you) and computer-related stuff.

Favourite Food: Pizza! I also can't live without root beer.

Favourite Animes: Digimon Tamers, Digimon Adventure, Digimon Zero Two, Digimon Frontier, Inu-Yasha, Gundam Wing, DBZ, Cardcaptors, Beyblade, Yu-Gi-Oh and Astro Boy (the original version).

Favourite Mangas: Fruits Basket, One Piece, Yu-Gi-Oh, Ranma 1/2, Oh My Goddess, Inu-Yasha, D N Angel, Lum Urusei Yatsura, Fullmetal Alchemist, Slayers, Lost Universe and Kimagure Orange Road.

Favourite Characters: Jonouchi, Bakura, Mokuba and Mai (Yu-Gi-Oh), Matt, Ken, Koji, Koichi, Gatomon, Wormmon and Impmon (Digimon series), Kai and Ray (Beyblade), Inu-Yasha, Shippo and Rin (Inu-Yasha), Duo Maxwell (Gundam Wing), Kero (Cardcaptors), Roronoa Zoro (One Piece), Kurama (Yu Yu Hakusho), Kyo, Momiji, Hatsuharu and Ayame (Fruits Basket), Ryoga and Mousse (Ranma 1/2), Daisuke and With (D N Angel) and Alphonse (Fullmetal Alchemist).

Well, that's it for me, as much as I can tell you on the Internet at least. However, you may want to know about my work schedule as well as a few other things. So here it goes:

My work schedule is not organized. I write first on paper, and depending on the number of fics I am doing at once, it could take a few weeks to a few months to finish one chapter. One time I lost a chapter from most of my fics and had to redo them. That was not a fun thing to do. Also, a chapter of "Imaginary Playmate" got wet. While this did not affect my ability to read it, I did want a better manuscript, so I redid it. However, most of the time, the lapse was due to not only writing, but also editing (which I believe is very important- nothing turns me off a story than sloppy editing), typing and then finding a computer with Internet access in it (my phone line couldn't support even dial-up), and uploading it to my account. I take great pride in my work, and after I finished a chapter, I would staple it, put it in a paper protector, and then place it in a big black binder. It makes it easier for me to edit, and I can see how long each chapter is. (I highly recommend that if you do not write on paper, to print it out or save it in another disk for backup).

As for tools and supplies, I take advantage of the annual school sale that occurs every August and buy lots of paper, mechanical pencils, erasers and a few other things. I use mechanical pencils because they are much easier to use and I do not have to worry about them when sharpening. I also use vinyl erasers because they are cleaner than original erasers. I use a Dell computer with Word '97, which works very well. However, before I upload on another computer, I check it with its own word processor (usually Word 2000) in case I miss something. However, because I do all my fics in HTLM format, it all comes back in HTML format in my computer. groans

My first fanfiction work was "The Dark Ocean of My Mind", a Digimon poem that was partly based on an actual moment of my life. It was published in 2001. "Imaginary Playmate" was first published in 2002.

Now that you know something about myself and my fanfiction career, I'll get Mabel to respond to all questions and/or comments that I feel need an answer.

Melinda-chan: Mabel!

Mabel: Yes?

Melinda-chan: Let's answer peoples' comments and questions for this story!

Mabel: Yay! I always wanted to know what people thought about us!

Melinda-chan: picks up first review This is from 'chibibaka1.' It asks, 'I wonder who Mabel is.' That's a good question. Mabel, do you know what you are?

Mabel: I'm a playmate!

Melinda-chan: Maybe I should elaborate on that for my readers.

What Mabel says is true. She is a playmate, but she's more than that. When I first thought of making a Yu-Gi-Oh fic way back in 2002, I was thinking of making an original other self and creating the Millennium Pen (which makes sense since I'm a writer). However, by that time, original yamis and extra Millennium Items were already being cliches, so I discarded that idea. However, one day, I was in my adult education class when we had to do a presentation, and one of my classmates decided to do hers on her son's imaginary playmate. It was not until I decided to make another Yu-Gi-Oh fic when I realized that with a few changes, I could revisit my original yami idea.

Mabel is NOT a yami, but a separate being in her own right. All she needs is a form, not a body to exist in the real world, and thus able to be independent (for example, if something happened to her partner, she will not be affected). However, because her main objective is to play with kids and find her own playmate, her plans themselves are not dangerous. It's when things go wrong with her playmate when her lack of maturity manifests itself. She tries to get rid of them, turns them into something useful like a toy, or just leaves. Fortunately, Mabel will hopefully apply what Mokuba told her about respecting and understanding other people.

Melinda-chan: Now that is done with, I'll get the next question. What does this one says, Mabel?

Mabel: Mystical Sand and Lily of the Shadow want to know whether people are conscious when I turned them into toys.

Melinda-chan: That should be easy for you to answer.

Mabel: Well it's not like I kill them or make them sleep.

Melinda-chan: Let me explain further.

I try to be as canon as possible to the concepts in the original anime and manga. Certainly Yugi and his friends were conscious when they were made into game pieces during the Monster World series and when Dark Bakura sealed them into cards during the Duelist Kingdom series of the anime. So I figured people turned into toys would be conscious in the real world. I have hinted at this from time to time in my story, and as far as I know, there is no thing to contradict this.

Melinda-chan: Okay, I know that I got a question from Alan Wilkinson.

Mabel: Yeah, he wants to know why you called the card game "Magic and Wizards" after Duelist Kingdom.

Melinda-chan: That's easy. I forgot.

Mabel: You did make Mo-ku-ba say "Duellist Monsters" in the first chapter.

Melinda-chan: I didn't know the original name of the card game back then.

Mabel: What do you say about that?

Melinda-chan: I'm sorry?

Mabel: You don't have to apologize for not knowing something.

Melinda-chan: Um, well now I know next time if I decided to write another Yu-Gi-Oh fic. It is a big 'if' though. And now for the comments. You have read them right, Mabel?

Mabel: Yeah. Chikorita-Trainer1 called me a bitch.

Melinda-chan: Yeah that is rude. Did you do anything in response?

Mabel: I turned her into a doll.

Melinda-chan: You turned her into a doll? disbelieving look

Mabel: Yep. But she wasn't good even as that, so I let go.

Melinda-chan: That explains why I have not seen the person review again. You should not turn my reviewers into dolls. Reviews are the bread and butter of fanfiction writers.

Mabel: What does that mean?

Melinda-chan: I'll explain later. Are there any more comments?

Mabel: Curtis Zidane Ziraa says that this makes a great horror story. I didn't know this was supposed to be a horror story.

Melinda-chan: Well you did some horrifying stuff.

Mabel: I didn't kill anyone.

Melinda-chan: Let me explain to the readers.

I didn't intend it to be a horror story. It's just a dark-themed drama. If you want to know what happened to Miss Oshi and the men, once Mabel puts a toy into the black toy chest, it stays there. It is the garbage toy chest.

Melinda-chan: Okay, now that is over with, there must be more comments.

Mabel: Jen says that the mean Ba-kur-a's humiliation was fun.

Melinda-chan: Yeah, the whole chapter was fun to write. But, yeah, I did poke fun at a few other characters too. Dark Bakura was just the prime target. I never liked him anyway, but I do like Jonouchi. Oh well. Any more comments?

Mabel: Just one from Terrin. She says that I care about Mo-ku-ba.

Melinda-chan: Well, do you?

Mabel: Of course!

Melinda-chan: Now that is over with, I can go to my author's notes.

When Mokuba tried to give Mabel a new name, he suggested three (male) names to her. All of them were based on real people: 'Kazuki' of course is from Kazuki Takahashi himself, 'Shoji' is from Shoji Kawamori, the director of "The Vision of Escaflowne" and 'Hajime' is from Hajime Kansaka, one of the creators of the "Slayers" works. I was either watching the anime or reading parts of the manga then. Mabel was in fact inspired by Phibrizzo of Slayers though Mabel is a lot nicer than he was.

I made Mabel say most of the names syllable by syllable because as she herself had said from time to time in the story, the names are strange. The only exception I made was 'Honda' since it's the name of a well-known company (the company makes cars and motorcycles in case you forgot). Since the company's so well known, I figured that Mabel would have heard about it.

The part where Mokuba was teaching Mabel how to use chopsticks came from a magazine article. Interestingly, hashi or o-hashi (as they're called in Japan) are known as "quick ones" in China, where they originated. I practiced using thick straws. Though I wasn't good at it, I managed to pick up a few pieces of popcorn with them.

On the third chapter, you may have noticed that at the end of a paragraph in parentheses: (Note: Line Error). Before established a double-space rule, I typed all my chapters in single space. However, my word processor would make line errors once in a while. So I had to put a notice every time this happens so I can change it in another word processor. I usually delete them after I corrected the line error, but this time I forgot. Oh well. It's not a biggie, since nobody else seem to notice it.

Dealing with Bakura was difficult. How can I show that it's Dark Bakura when he doesn't want to reveal himself yet? I decided to put quotation marks around Bakura's name to show it's not really Ryo Bakura but his deceptive dark half.

Jonouchi, Honda and Anzu or Joey, Tristan or Tea? It doesn't really matter to me but by the time I was writing the third chapter, I was already reading Shonen Jump and by reading fanfiction I knew the original names were already well-known, so why not? In any case, Honda's actually his last name, like Bakura's. His first name is Hiroto, but nobody calls him that.

Here's the disclaimer for all the dolls in the fourth chapter when Mabel got all the characters to look like story and movie characters:

Seto & Mokuba: Ebenezer Scrooge and Bob Cratchit are from "A Christmas Carol" written by Charles Dickens. Since I have not read the book or seen the original movie, I based Seto and Mokuba's appearances from the Disney movie and Scrooge McDuck (without the hat or kilt mind you).

The Bakuras: Tweedledee and Tweedledum are from "The Looking Glass And What Alice Found There" written by Lewis Carroll (pen name of Charles Dodgson). It is better known as "Alice of Wonderland."

Jonouchi: There is a real series of books about a dog named Spot written by Eric Hill. However, Mabel preferred that Jonouchi looked more like a normal dog. (I have seen the books though). Interestingly enough, the "Spot" books are known in Japan, where he's called Korochan!

Honda: Robin Hood is a legendary figure in England and his tales was first written during the 14th century in a long poem. Since then, books, movies, TV shows and cartoons have helped popularize the sympathetic outlaw and his adventures. Mabel did not allow Honda to have any arrows since she didn't want Honda to hurt himself with them, not because she was afraid of him!

Anzu: Scarlett O'Hara is from "Gone With The Wind", written by Margaret Mitchell, which later became an award-winning movie. Since I haven't read the book or seen the movie, I based Anzu's ballgown from a magazine article about a woman that is a big fan of "Gone With The Wind." She wore a dress similar to the one that Anzu wore, including the fan.

Yugi: Pinocchio was actually written by an Italian man named Carlo Lorenzini (pen name Collodi) in the 19th century. I actually read the first part of the original story in a book and it's really good. Of course I know about the Disney movie version too.

Additional information on most of the doll characters are from the "Larousse Dictionary of Literary Characters", 1994, and "Benet's Readers' Encyclopedia"- 3rd edition: Harper & Row Publishers, Inc., 1987. Information on Spot can be found at you have any more questions about my story, please either e-mail me or put it in the review box. I'll either e-mail you back or put it in a review of my own.

Melinda-chan: Mabel, do you have the list of recommended fics?

Mabel: Yes I do! gives her the list

Melinda-chan: Now that my story's done, here are some fics that you should read. I either read them myself or were contributed.

"If Only You Smile" by Chibi Vv. Rating: G. Genre(s): General/Angst. Chapter(s): 1 (one shot). It's a cute and sweet Mokuba/Seto fic.

"Run" by The Inspector. Rating: PG. Genre(s): Drama/General. Chapter(s): 1 (one shot). Another sweet Mokuba/Seto fic.

"Storm Spell" by The Otherworlder. Rating: PG. Genre(s): Fantasy/Romance. Chapter(s): 7. Inspired from the movie "The Day After Tomorrow" (didn't see the movie but know what it's about). A beautiful story. Seto/Isis. (No I'm not a fan of the coupling).

"Is This Normal?" by Lizeth. Rating: PG. Genre(s): General/Drama. Chapter(s): 9 (unfinished). The best Ryo Bakura story I have read so far. Lizeth even draws so I know what her original characters look like. I really envy fanfiction writers that can also draw. Sadly, the story seemed to be in a hiatus. It's still worth reading. Lizeth also has a very good Yu-Gi-Oh website.

"One-Sided Polygon" by Chibizoo. Rating: PG. Genre(s): Parody. Chapter(s): 1 (one shot).

"Club 0013" by Chibizoo. Rating: R. Genre(s): Supernatural/Angst. Chapter(s): 14.

"I Am Evil" by Chibizoo. Rating: G. Genre(s): General. Chapter(s): 1 (one shot).

Chibizoo writes stories that are humourous and light, dark and gory, or that explore an aspect of human nature. "One-Sided Polygon", "Club 0013," and "I Am Evil" are the best examples (in my opinion) of these three types. "One-Sided Polygon" is a Yu-Gi-Oh adaptation of the Frederik Pohl classic story "Day Million", which itself is a parody of SF. "Club 0013" is loosely based on the book "The Giver", but soon turns into horror and angst. The ending is quite confusing though. "I Am Evil" has Ryo Bakura trying to find the true nature of evil. (Good luck Ryo). It has a nice twist in the ending. Chibizoo is a fabulous writer but her stories tend to be dark and gory. Just be cautious.

"Memory Box" by Britani Gael. Rating: PG. Genre(s): General. Chapter(s): 1 (one shot).

"Change of Heart" by Britani Gael. Rating: PG. Genre(s): General. Chapter(s): 13.

"Memory Box" is a story about Joey and his younger sister. A touching story on the childhood of the two siblings before their parents screwed things up for them. "Change of Heart" is of course a story about the two Bakuras. Britani Gael was one of the first Yu-Gi-Oh fanfiction writers I noticed and liked.

"From Darkness to Light" by Asher Tye. Rating: PG. Genre(s): Action/Adventure/Drama. Chapter(s): 16 (so far). Recommended by Mystical Sand. I haven't had the time to read it yet, but the summary's interesting. Why don't the rest of my readers read it and see it for yourself?

All of these stories are still available on of course I can't miss the opportunity to recommend my other Yu-Gi-Oh works:

"Best Friends Forever"- Rating: G. Genre: Poetry.

"For My Sister Serenity (Though You're Far Away)"- Rating: G. Genre: Poetry.

"Big Brother"- Rating: G. Genre: Poetry.

"Best Friends Forever"- Joey talks about Yugi. A well-reviewed poem. "For My Sister Serenity (Though You're Far Away)" is actually a Yu-Gi-Oh adaptation of an original poem I made for my younger sister (available at under my account name "Melinda-chan"). It is a very emotional poem and the best of the three in my opinion. "Big Brother" is about Mokuba when he was captured by Pegasus. Many reviewers said it is very sad. Still getting reviews, believe it or not.

Also, if you like Digimon, DBZ, Inu-Yasha and Beyblade, you can read those works as well. Please do not forget to review!

Melinda-chan: Now to thank the people that reviewed!

Mabel: You really don't have a lot, do you?

Melinda-chan: I got a few loyal reviewers. Also, I got to thank the people that made it possible for me to read and watch Yu-Gi-Oh.

Mabel: I guess that's right.

Melinda-chan: Okay, let's begin with the reviewers.

Mystical Sand: I always feel happy when someone I previously didn't know keep on reviewing. But may I ask how is it that you know when I update?

Alan Wilkinson: Thank you for reviewing this story! I hope you keep on reviewing my other stories as well!

Terrin and Jen: Ah! New reviewers! Hope you like this chapter as well if you are still reading this! Do you have a fanfiction account of your own? I would like to get to know your interests and maybe read and review your works.

Lily of the Shadow, Dawnatella, Carter Tachikawa, Chikorita-Trainer1, Curtis Zidane Ziraa, chibibaka1, Raven K, Hot Shot14, OracleVortex, Lobo Kendo and meskup: Where have you all gone? I hope you review again!

Of course, I got to thank the people and companies responsible for me to read and watch Yu-Gi-Oh:

Manga: Jenniyah and Janime for the scanlations and Shonen Jump for the official manga. However, I wished Shonen Jump had retained the original names of the Battle City characters. It's SUPPOSED to be Malik, Isis and Rishid, dammit!

Anime: As much as I hate it now, I got to thank 4Kids Productions and YTV for producing and bringing the anime dub to Canada. I prefer the manga anyway, and the anime was a marketing ploy even in Japan. Still, I wished that the rating was at least PG. It would have made a few things make more sense (how did Bakura get a bandage around his arm, huh, guys?)

And of course I have to thank Kazuki Takahashi for making such memorable characters and for being so appreciative of the fanbase, both in Japan and elsewhere. Arigato, Takahashi-sensei!

If any of my readers want to know about the possibility of future Yu-Gi-Oh works, all I can say is "maybe." I already have enough fanfiction to work on now and I am planning to add another story soon to my account. However, I can do one shots and poems, and every once in a while I may have inspiration to write one. But for now, you could read my poems if you want to.

Melinda-chan: Now that's over with, I can say this to you Mabel: I'm letting you go.

Mabel: What! Who is going to play with me?

Melinda-chan: Maybe someone else would. I got no use for you anymore.

Mabel: I'm off then! disappears

As I said, I got no use for Mabel now. So you can use her if you wish. This is finally the end. I wish all of you a good year and remember, happy writing!

Melinda-chan- March 15, 2005- 12:06 AM (Time of writing)


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